What Are Our Reasons?
by typist67
Summary: Naruto's suddenly disappeared and has become a Missing-Nin. What does this do to Sakura? And what what happens when she gets a surprise visit? And...Sakura has siblings! AU Lemons in future chapters. DISCONTINUED!
1. Chapter 1: Naruto's Disappearance

Unfortunately, i don't own anything from the Naruto series. If i did, I'd probably be traveling to Europe right and not even writing this story. XD

On with the story

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Naruto walked through the streets of Konoha, heading the apartment that he had always lived in. He had just left Sakura's house. She had invited Kakashi and him over for dinner after their long hours of training. He had to say that she had gotten stronger in the course of six years. She had gotten over her love for Sasuke and had actually accepted his offer to date. It worked for about a year before they both agreed they could never be anything more than brother and sister. After, she looked for people that she thought would be good enough, but never found anyone good enough. She had admitted to Naruto once that she felt like she still had feelings for Sasuke and had rejected a lot of men because of it.

Now that he thought about it, she had tried to date Sai and help him with emotions as well. It worked and Sai had actually kissed her because he said that felt a pull towards her. After, it kind of went downhill because Sai's emotions were getting to him. So, now she was single and still a virgin. Naruto sighed. He wished that miracle would happen to his best friend. She kept putting on smiles at dinner, but he could see that sadness in her eyes whenever she was staring out the window or staring off into space.

He turned the corner and stopped as an ominous wind blew in his face. His hand took a kunai out, ready for any attack that would come. He saw a figure stand a few meters ahead of him. An overhead light flickered briefly and he saw red clouds on a black cloak. Dark red eyes looked into blue cerulean eyes. Naruto gripped the kunai tighter in his hand. "Sasuke-teme…"

The figure laughed. "Nothing gets by you, eh Dobe?"

"What do you want?"

"I know you want me to come back to the village Naruto, but you have to fight me."

"Fine." He got ready to make some clones.

"I'm not finished with my compromise yet, dobe."

He stopped. "Well, hurry it up."

"We're not fighting here and now. I'm giving you direction to Akatsuki Headquarters. I want you there in three days. You are not to tell anyone that you are leaving, not even your pink-haired friend."

Naruto's eyes widened. If he wanted to bring Sasuke back, he couldn't tell Sakura that he was leaving. But what if he died or never came back? Sakura would probably end up killing herself and Naruto couldn't live with himself if he knew that he caused his sister to commit suicide.

"When you get there, I'll be waiting. If you win, I'll come back to Konoha and I won't attempt to leave again. If I win, you become part of the Akatsuki, but I'll have them leave you alone about taking the Nine-Tailed Fox from you."

Naruto knew that he only had about a 25% chance of winning against Sasuke. But he was hoping that he could do it. It would make Sakura happy and Naruto would have one of his friends back. He nodded. "I accept."

"Good." He took out a piece of paper. "Here are the directions to Headquarters. Remember, you can't tell anyone. Your best bet would be to leave at sunrise. I'll be waiting." He disappeared into thin air. Naruto dropped the kunai in his hand and fell to his knees. Tears ran down his cheeks. "Sakura-chan, I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

Sakura bolted upright out of bed. Something wasn't right. She had this same feeling the night that Sasuke left. She jumped out of bed and ran to the main gates. She hoped to Kami that her thoughts weren't true. She stopped just as she saw something in orange lean against the gates. "Naruto!"

He looked up just as Sakura ran into his arms. She hugged him tightly as she cried. "Naruto, don't leave please. I'm begging you. Don't leave me alone."

His heart broke at the fact that he would have to lie to her. "Sakura, I'll be back, I promise."

She looked up. "Promise?"

He nodded, wiping away her tears. "I'll be gone for about a year. But I promise that I'll come back. Just wait for me." He gave her lips a gentle kiss. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back. They knew it was wrong but, it helped calm them down. She pulled back first.

"Naruto, please stay safe."

"I will." He saw the sun slowly start to rise over the horizon. "I have to go now."

She hugged him one last time. "I love you, Naruto."

"I love you too, Sakura."

They pulled away and Naruto flung his pack over his shoulder. He gave her lips one last kiss before he turned and began to walk down the path away from the village. Sakura watched his retreating figure. She couldn't help but feel that Naruto wouldn't return to her. She turned and headed back home, ready to cry herself back to sleep.

Three days later, Naruto appeared at this massive lake. He saw a figure standing in the middle of it. Naruto dropped his pack and walked over the water towards the figure. "I knew you'd make it, dobe. Now, the fight begins." He activated his Sharingan as Naruto made shadow clones. They lunged at each other.

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Sorry that it's so short and crappy. But that's the best thing that i could come with for the first chapter


	2. Chapter 2: Kidnapped

Sakura sat on the gates of Konoha, looking for any sign of an orange figure. She had spent the entire week, waiting for him to come back, but she'd never seen a trace of him. She had asked Tsunade what mission Naruto had, but Tsunade just looked at her confused and said that Naruto didn't have a mission. After, Anbu members were sent out to find him, but they'd all come back empty handed with no clues or traces. They were searching blindly. She let a lone tear run down before she swiped it away.

Over they year that she'd been waiting a lot of things had happened. Tsunade had retired her title as Sanin and top medic-nin and given them both to Sakura. Also, she had become one of the top Anbu in the Anbu Medical-Corps. Her body had gone through some changes as well. Sakura's breast had gone from a C-cup to a DD-cup. She had grown her hair out again and changed her attire. She wore a red sleeveless turtle neck and the hem stopped just under her breast. She had on same black training shorts and the same tan skirt. She wore a red bandana around her hips with Haruno white circle bright against the deep red. She still wore her black boots and black gloves. She now used swords and kept the strapped to her lower back horizontally facing opposite directions.

She heaved a deep sigh and jumped off the gate. She spotted Jiraiya leaning against the wall. "What's up, Jiraiya-sama?"

"Nothing. I just came to report to Tsunade that I still haven't found any clues about Naruto's whereabouts. Then, I spotted you and I was waiting until you would come down. I wanted to ask how you pulling through."

She sighed. "I'm okay. I'm puling through fine. I just wish that Naruto didn't leave. I feel all alone now. I had asked Tsunade some time ago to stop sending Team 7 on mission because there's nothing left of us." She shrugged and stuffed her hand in her pockets. Jiraiya couldn't help but think she almost look like the younger Uchiha with her stance and the way she looked up at the starry night sky.

He sighed. "As long as you're feeling alright. I'll go talk to Tsunade now. You should go rest your self. You've probably had a long day."

She nodded. "You're right. See ya, Jiraiya-sama."

"Goodnight."

Sakura walked into her bathroom and looked at her neck. People often mistake the cherry blossoms on her neck for a tattoo. But really it's a seal. There was very little that Sakura could remember from the day that she was attacked, but it wasn't good. On top of that, she had recently found out that her family had a Kekkei Genkai. She shook her head. She would dwell about these things tomorrow if she really wanted to. Right now she wanted to sleep. She flipped the lights off and crawled into her bed. She had only begun to fall asleep when she heard her window open. She heard two pairs of sandaled feet land on her wood floor. Her hand silently slid under her pillow and grasped the kunai that was there. The two people came over to her side and flung the covers off.

"Teme, are you sure you want to take her with us? I mean she could still be the weak girl we left behind."

"I don't care, dobe. If she's still weak, she'll only be useful to bear my children and watch over them."

The first voice scoffed. "Whatever you want to do just hurry up."

Sakura's mind was scrambling around, trying to understand what Naruto and Sasuke wanted to do with her. She suddenly felt being lifted into someone's arms. She jabbed the person in the shoulder with her kunai. She met Naruto's face as he gritted his teeth. She gasped and slipped out of his grasp, jumping out of the window. She landed softly on the ground and ran towards the Hokage's Mansion, only to be blocked. She skidded to a halt as she saw the two Missing-Nin from her team. Naruto stood in the attire he used to wear before he left while Sasuke stood beside him in the Akatsuki cloak. "Sakura-chan, where are you going? Why are you running?"

She stared at him in disbelief. "N…Naruto…"

He grinned his usual grin at her. "That's right. See? I told you I'd come back."

She shook her head as tears gathered in her eyes. "No, you betrayed Konoha. You betrayed me and Kakashi and everyone else. You're not Naruto."

"Sakura-chan, how can you say that? It's really me."

"No, because you would've come back. You would've stayed to fulfill your dream to become Hokage."

He sighed. "I realized that that dream was a stupid one."

She felt a scream bubbling up in her throat, but she swallowed it down. That was the last thing she needed to do now. Naruto walked up to her and took her hands. "Sakura-chan, I've come home."

She shook her head as tears ran down and she tore her hands out of his grasp. She ran away from them, heading for the training grounds. She stopped in the old training ground where they used to train when they were genin. A pain registered on her neck. She screamed and gripped her neck. Her emotions were haywire and she needed to calm down before she let the demon in her take over. She heard something behind her and spun around. Naruto stood there wearing the Akatsuki cloak. She spun around and Sasuke on the other side of her. She cried out as the pain increased ten fold. She fell to her knees gasping for breath. The other two were by her side in a flash. Sasuke kneeled down next to her and ripped her hand away from her neck. He saw the four cherry blossoms on her neck glowing red.

"What's wrong with you?"

She spat in his face. He growled lowly and kicked her in the face. She cried out and smashed into a tree. Suddenly a dark red aura surrounded her body. She fell to her knees and gripped her head as her back arched and a scream erupted from her lips. Strong wind blew all around them and then suddenly died down when Sakura disappeared. Naruto went to move but was suddenly flung into a tree. It snapped in half as he lay there unconscious. Sakura landed in front of Sasuke. She had claws and fangs, a black tail, and two dog ears that sat on top of her pink hair. Her eyes were glowing a menacing red. He smirked. "You've changed a lot in a year, Sakura."

"You have no idea." She disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the clearing in less than a second. "I've been given the title of Sanin since Tsunade retired hers and the top medic-nin all over the ninja world. I'm better than that fucking idiot Kabuto that thought he was better than everyone else."

"You've also managed to knock Naruto out with one hit. That's even more impressive. But it doesn't matter when you're against me. You can't defeat my Sharingan." He opened his eyes and she saw that they were red. She closed hers and opened them again. Sasuke was a bit miffed. Her eyes were black with speckles and flecks of red in it. Her tail swished from side to side as she smiled. "You've been given one too many praises because your ego's bigger than ever."

He glared at the pinkette. "Can I offer you a compromise?"

"That depends on what it is?" She flipped back into a tree and hung upside down. "What do you wager?"

"I want to fight you. If you win, Naruto and I will stay here and won't attempt to leave Konoha again. If I win, then you have to come with us and become a part of the Akatsuki group."

She jumped down, in deep thought. An idea popped in her head. "I don't like your compromise, Sasuke-_teme_."

He glared. "You have a better idea?"

She nodded her head. "One that doesn't involve blood shed."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Humor me."

She was in front of him faster than his Sharingan could register. "I just come with you willingly. I won't put up a fight or anything. I promise."

He eyed her closely. "You're just afraid that I'd win because I'm stronger than you, right?"

"Nope. I just don't feel like fighting tonight." She stepped back once, putting her hands behind her head. "Besides, if I really wanted to fight you, I could kill you will a simple look. Nothing to it."

"I highly doubt that."

She cocked her head to the side. "Oh? Create a clone of you for me."

"Hn." He did so and it stood next to her. She looked into its eyes and it suddenly started to yell and convulse in pain. It fell to the ground twitching terribly. She closed her eyes and sighed. It stopped and blood leaked from its eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. The clone 'poof-ed' away and she looked at him. "Told ya, didn't I? Just one simple look was all it took. But, that was the slow death. The fast death is much different." She looked in his eyes, not afraid. "When can we leave?"

"Wake the dobe up and we'll get going."

She walked over to him and kicked his side. "Get up, lazy ass."

He groaned and looked up at her. "What?"

"We're leaving."

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Was it good? Review, Review, Review!


	3. Chapter 3: Forgiving & Meeting Another

They stopped in a clearing for the night. Sakura still hadn't changed from the form of a half-dog demon, half-vampire. She wore mini-short, and a tank top. She put her ninja attire into a bag along with some other clothes and her weapons. She had left a note on her dining room table to Kakashi that she would be back soon. She couldn't tell him where she had left to, but she would be back soon. Right now, she laid on a branch high up in a tree, her tail wrapped around her waist. She had refused to eat anything. A figure appeared behind her. She sighed.

"What do you want, Naruto?"

"You need to eat."

"I told you that I'm not hungry."

He sat down beside her and handed her a fish skewered on a stick. She snatched it from him and bit on it. She kept her face emotionless, even though this was the best piece of fish she ever had.

"Why haven't you left yet?" she asked.

"I wanted to apologize to you."

"I don't want to hear it, traitor."

"So, you're heart still belongs to Konoha, huh?"

"Uzamaki, leave me alone!"

"Sakura-chan–"

"No, shut up! I don't want to listen to you!" She jumped down from the high branch, landing on the balls of her feet. Sasuke ignored her. She didn't care. She threw her half eaten fish in the fire and watched it burn. He looked at her. "That was a waste of food."

"Blah, blah, blah. Kiss my ass, Uchiha." She turned to leave. "I'm taking a walk. I'll be back later."

Sasuke grabbed her wrist and pinned her to a tree. He pressed himself into her core. She gasped. "You're not going anywhere, Sakura-_chan_. Understand? I don't want you to try and contact that stupid village to give us away." He ground against her, making her gasp and close her eyes.

"Sasuke, stop. Please." She had to get him to stop. Her emotions were going everywhere and she couldn't control them. "Please, stop."

He ignored her pleas and continued to grind against her as he sucked her pulse spot. "Can you feel that Sakura? This is what you do to me."

She moaned softly. He wrapped her legs around his waist as he got harder and began to softly thrust against her. She gripped his shoulders. He stopped all that he was doing and went back to the fire. "You're mine, Sakura. Remember that."

She huffed and blew a raspberry at him. "I'm not property, Uchiha." She grabbed her pack and turned on her heels. "I'm going to take a bath. I'll be back in about thirty minutes."

She sat in the water, making sure that she was completely submerged in the water. She took a deep breath before she dove down and swam down towards the deep parts of the stream. She could feel the water twisting around her body, caressing it. Since she was part dog demon, she could control an element and it happened to be water. She sighed in content, letting all the air escape. The water held her in place, roving over her body like soft silk or satin and helping her body return to its human form. She heard someone calling her name and straightened out, letting the water stop what it was doing. She swam to the surface and gasped for air and looked around for the person that was calling her. Naruto stood at the edge of the stream. She glared. "What do you want?"

"Sasuke-teme told me to come get you."

"Since when do you take orders from him?"

"Since I lost to him in a battle on the day I left."

She just scoffed. "Whatever. I need to put my clothes on and I can't do it with you standing there, Uzamaki." She noticed how hurt his face looked. She wanted to apologize for being so mean, but she couldn't get over how mad she was because he left her all alone. He turned his back and she climbed out, quickly slipping her clothes on. She walked up to him and hugged him from behind. He tensed and then relaxed.

"Sakura-chan…"

"I forgive you, Naruto." She let go of him and came around him. "But I'm still mad at you for leaving me all alone."

"I really am sorry."

"I know. But my grudge isn't over yet." She picked up her bag of clothes and threw it at him. "Carry my bag back to camp and I'll think about releasing my grudge."

He gave a soft chuckle and followed her back to their mini camp, flinging her bag over his shoulder. He smiled as a thought flitted through his mind. He ran up behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist, picking her up. She hung under his arm. It took her a moment to realize this before she started to beat on his stomach as she laughed. "Naruto put me down, you idiot."

He laughed loudly. "Not a chance, Sakura-chan. Besides, this reminds me of the fun we used to have."

She giggled. "I remember that. I wish that we could have that much fun again. Too bad the Akatsuki is so serious. Stupid serious freaks," she huffed. He just shook his head at her stubbornness and indifference. They arrived at the camp. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at them. They both just laughed and he shook his head. Naruto dropped her pack and then dropped her. She was still laughing as she rolled on her back. It died out and she tilted her head back, watching the fire flicker upside-down. She sighed and rolled on her stomach, grabbing her pack and pulling it under her head. "I'm going to sleep guys. See you in the morning."

Naruto watched the fire and noticed a half-eaten fish burning in the flames. "Please tell me that was Sakura that threw the fish in there. I mean, that's a waste of food."

"I told her that, but she just brushed it off."

"Teme, do you love Sakura-chan?"

"Hn."

"Don't give me that. It's a yes or no question."

"What if I don't have an answer for you right now, dobe?"

"Sasuke, you obviously want Sakura with us for a reason and somehow I get the feeling that you might actually have some sort of feelings for her."

"Naruto shut up and leave him alone about it. Argue some other time about it when I'm not around," Sakura said from her still position. Both men looked at each other, wondering if she had really heard their entire argument.

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Sakura snuggled further into the warmth that was wrapped around her. The wind was whipping fiercely at her face. _Wait a minute…What the hell?!_ Her eyes shot open and she looked around. Trees flew by her in a blur. She looked up and saw deep onyx eyes look into her. It took her a minute to realize that Sasuke was carrying her bridal-style towards their destination. Her face flushed as Sasuke smirked at her. "You looked so peaceful that we didn't want to wake you up. Besides, you refused to get up anyway."

"Well, can you stop for a second?"

He jumped on another branch and stopped. Naruto landed next to him. She scrambled out of his arms and snatched her pack from him. He handed her swords to her and she strapped them to her back. She glared at him and they resumed their trek. As they jumped through the tree branches, Sakura let herself get caught in her thoughts. She couldn't help but think about her family. They were gone. She understood how Sasuke felt when he saw his older brother kill their family. She had to witness the same thing. She could still feel the warm blood splatter over her face, clothes, and hair as she watched with terrified eyes as they were slaughtered. She could still hear his laughter as she helplessly begged him to stop. As she thought about this, she could feel the invisible hand squeeze her heart tightly, painfully.

"Sakura-chan, look out!"

She came back to reality and saw a tree branch coming right for her. She flipped over it and grabbed onto another branch and swung herself up. Something caught her senses and she jumped onto Sasuke's shoulders before propelling herself up above the treetops. She landed on what looked like a giant bird made out of clay.

"Hey, what are you doing on my bird? Yeah," came a voice. She looked over and saw a blonde with a hairdo much like Ino's sitting on top of the bird, wearing the Akatsuki jacket. She knew that this was Deidara. She remembered him from when Naruto and Kakashi went after him while she and Chiyo-baa-sama, went after Sasori. She growled lowly at him. "What the hell are you growling at me for?" Then he seemed to noticed her pink hair. Just as he did, she took out one of her swords and stabbed the bird. It exploded and they went sailing down through the trees, hurtling towards the ground. Branches snatched at their skin and clothes. Her hands caught on a thick branch and Deidara caught onto her legs. She cursed at him.

"Let go of me, you idiot! I can't told us both up."

"Oh, please. Like I'll believe that, yeah. You're the apprentice of the Hokage, the one with the inhuman strength, yeah."

The branch snapped a bit and they both gasped. They went were falling again. Deidara got hit in the back of the head with a thick branch while Sakura was whacked in the chin by the very same one. When they landed, she was laying across his body with her face nestled in his neck. He hand a hand on her behind and a hand on her breast. She fluttered her eyes open as she heard someone calling her name. She sat up and rubbed her head. She felt something soft and wet lick her nipple through her shirt. She looked down and saw Deidara's hand on her breast. She shrieked and pulled his hand away, seeing a small mouth with teeth and a tongue hanging out of it.

Sasuke was ahead of Naruto as they sped towards the spot where Sakura and Deidara were. He saw just as she kicked him in the stomach repeatedly. He came up to her and restrained her while pulling her away from him. "Sakura, why are you attacking him?"

"He was molesting me. That mouth on his hand was practically eating my breast." She heard Sasuke growl lowly and glowered at Deidara as he sat up.

"Listen, Deidara, Sakura is mine. You better keep your hands off of her."

He stood and dusted himself off. "Well, that wouldn't have happened if she hadn't attacked my bird, yeah."

She swiftly kicked him in his crotch and stormed off. Naruto decided to go ahead and take off with Sakura. With the way Sasuke was glaring with murderous intent at Deidara, he knew that he didn't want to stick around in case he got caught in it.


	4. Chapter 4: Battles & Secrets

Sasuke and Deidara caught up with them about forty-five minutes later. Deidara held a bruise or two on his face and his jacket was ripped. He kept grumbling something under his breath and Sasuke chose to ignore him. They arrived at a massive lake. Sakura walked up to it and notice how clear it looked. She crouched down and touched the surface, feeling it ripple under her fingertips for it wanted to mend with her body.

"I see you're very interested in the water," she heard. Her head snapped up. She saw Kisame standing on the water, not too far away from her. He hadn't changed a bit. His skin was still blue, of course, and he still wore that cocky grin on his face as his beady black eyes bore into her emerald ones. "I guess it's a good thing since this will be your resting place. Seems to me like the Uchiha just brought you to your death."

"No, I came willingly."

His expression didn't waver, but she knew about the questions that were probably going through his head since he didn't say anything. She kicked off her sandals and walked onto the water. She heard Sasuke call to Kisame, "Don't take her lightly, fish bait. She's stronger than before."

"Please, like this weak girl could even stand five minutes against me."

"Oh, let's see. If Sasuke's Sharingan couldn't keep up with my speed, how do you expect to keep up with me."

"It's not about speed. It's about strength and brains."

"I'll give you some credit in the strength category, but you have zip in the brains category."

He growled and charged for her. She gave a bored look and was suddenly behind him. He spun around, shock written all over his face. She crossed her arms. "Please tell me you don't plan to fight me with that kind of speed." She disappeared again and appeared behind him, stabbing him through the back with both of her swords. He grunted as he spit up some blood. She let go of one sword and did some one-handed hand signs. Everyone watched as the water of the lake turned black. She pulled her swords out and moved away from him. Kisame went to move but felt hands grabbing at him feet. He looked down and saw the water forming multiple hands. They grabbed onto his clothes and began dragging him down. He swiped at them with his sword, Samehada, but they just kept coming. He yelled in annoyance as he was dragged down underwater. Sakura didn't move because she knew that Kisame wasn't defeated. The water started to bubble under her feet and she jumped out of the way just as Kisame swung his sword at her. She landed on the water and took a kunai out. She ran straight at him, disappearing at the last second as he swung his sword. She landed on his shoulder and stabbed him in the neck, avoiding any major veins. He yelled and grabbed her by the hair and flung her across the water, just after his sword sliced her side. She cried out as she skipped over the water, like a stone. She stood up and was able to duck just as his sword swiped over her head.

She stopped focusing her chakra in her feet and sunk down through the water. She did some more hand signs and watched from under the water as the water turned back to normal and then froze over. Kisame tried to break through the ice, but it wouldn't even crack. He heard a snap behind him and saw tree roots sprouting from the ice. He jumped away, thinking that he knew her plan. He landed again and laughed as she appeared from under the ice. "You thought that you would be able to get me? You're just a weak girl with no tricks up her sleeve."  
She growled. "I…am not…weak!" She slammed her palms on the icy surface. Vines sprouted up around Kisame and they embedded themselves in his skin. He yelled in pain as they slithered under his skin. Sasuke and the others watched as Kisame took out a kunai and began to slice his skin, screaming about the vines killing him. Naruto and Deidara looked at each other confused. But Sasuke just narrowed his eyes. He thought she was doing a genjutsu. Sakura stood and did a hand-sign, mumbling, "Kai." Kisame fell to the ground, panting for air. Sakura collapsed to her knees, panting as well. Kisame struggled to sit up as he glared at the pink-haired kunoichi. "I have to admit it girl, I have met my match. I admit defeat."

She smirked. "I told you that I wasn't weak, didn't I?" The ice melted away and Sakura stood up, massaging the gash that marred her side. She walked back over to the others as Naruto grabbed her in a bear hug. "Sakura, that was awesome! You totally had us fooled."

Sasuke nodded in agreement. As Naruto put her down, he gently took her hand, which really surprised her. "Listen, it's not like we don't trust you, but our leader would feel a lot better if you weren't able to see how we get into our headquarters and how we leave. So, I have to blindfold you." She nodded as she took out her bandanna with her clan symbol on it. He wrapped it around her eyes and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Hey, Sasuke? Is she your woman or something? Yeah," she heard Deidara ask.

He just growled at him, silently telling him keep-your-mouth-shut-or-you-die. She felt Sasuke lead her onto a platform. She gasped when she suddenly felt them going downwards. Sasuke had her in his arms as they went down. When they stopped, he grabbed her hand and dragged her through a serious of hallways. She was too lost in her thoughts about her family that she almost didn't realize when Sasuke took the bandana off her eyes. She looked around and saw that they were standing in front of a door with a giant slash going diagonally across it. Deidara and Kisame weren't with them. Naruto knocked and she heard gruff, "Come in."

When they walked in, the first thing she noticed was how dimly lit the room was. The only source of light was the dim lamp in the far corner. The next thing she noticed was the man sitting behind the small wooden desk. He had the same kind of hairstyle Naruto had, except his hair was orange. He had a snake bite piercing and three piercings going up both sides of his nose. Other piercings lined the shell of his ear and a metal bar went vertically through both ears. But what really caught her attention was the way his eyes were. His irises were a dark orange with a thick darker orange around them. Then, black circle stretched out around that. If she remembered correctly, they were called the Rinnegan Eyes, his Kekkei Genkai. He glared at her and she glared back. His eyes flickered to Sasuke. "This is the girl you were taking about, Uchiha?"

"Aa, this is her. She came willingly instead of us having to drag her."

He stood and eyed her suspiciously, circling her. Naruto and Sasuke made no move to stop him because they knew better. But Sakura didn't now Pein and didn't know that he didn't take too kindly to people who disrespected him. She snapped, "What are you a vulture in another life?"

Naruto showed her worry for her and Sasuke showed little, though he was flipping out on the inside. Pein grabbed her by the throat and hoisted her off the ground. She didn't look fazed by it, nor did she make a move to stop him. She just chuckled. "Just a heads up, choking me to death won't kill me."

He growled and threw her against the wall with amazing strength, though it didn't even come close to hers. There was a good sized crater in the wall as she lay on the floor. All three men watched as she sat up. She popped her shoulder back into its socket, cracked her neck, and realigned one of her ribs. She never showed an ounce of pain. She stood. "I have to say that that was some quite impressive strength."

He snarled at her, "Listen here you will respect me like you respect your precious Hokage. If you don't show me respect, I will kill you. I don't care if you're Uchiha's woman, you will die if you anger me."

"Yes, Pein-sama," she spat.

"Leave."

She turned away from him and walked out of the room, slamming it shut behind her.

Pein looked at both men. "Just because she beat Kisame doesn't mean anything. It could've been pure luck."

"But, Pein-sama," Naruto interjected, "Rumors have it that Tsunade gave up her title as Sannin and best medic-nin in the ninja world and gave both to Sakura."

"But as you said, they're rumors. It doesn't mean that it's true. In ten minutes, I want Sakura to be in the back room ready to battle Hidan. If she can beat him, I'll believe the rumors. If she fails, well, she'll end up dead anyway. Everyone will watch and judge to see if she really is worthy enough to be a part of us."

Sakura had found a door that had Sasuke's name on it. She went in and flopped on the bed, dropping her bag and unhooking her weapons from her body. She heard the door open and looked up. Itachi shut the door and threw something at her. She caught it and saw that it was the Akatsuki jacket, just shorter. She pulled it on and stood. The hem came down to her mid thighs. She glared at him as he watched her blankly. "You don't seriously expect me to wear this, do you?"

"It's what the leader wants the women to wear. There are only two."

"Who's the other one?"

"Her name is Konan. She's from the Hidden Rain Village. She's able to use origami in her paper-style nin-jutsus."

She nodded. "I have a question, though."

He sighed. "I know it's about why Sasuke hasn't killed me yet or why I killed my clan, but we don't have time for that." He stood and headed out the door, calling over his shoulder, "Follow me."

She jumped up and grabbed her weapons, running after the older Uchiha. They walked through a series of halls before they came to a humongous cave that had the upper half of a statue with the hands sticking up, the fingers spread apart. She noticed that there was at least one person on each finger of the statue, while the others sat in between the fingers. Across from her stood Hidan. She remembered him from when she had to back up Team 10 when they went after him and Kakuzu. "What's going on?"

"You are to defeat Hidan in battle. If you do, the others will decide if you really are worth keeping here. If you fail…well, you'll be dead." He jumped away from her and onto one of the fingers. She grumbled under her breath, "Could've at least warned me, dammit."

She walked forward as she strapped her swords to her back and her kunai holster to her leg. "I should warn you, not that you'd care, but like my mentor…I don't like to lose."

He chuckled. "You have a lot of spunk for a little girl." Her eyes narrowed. "I remember you from when you had to back up that stupid boy with the shadow jutsu."

"His name is Shikamaru Nara." She crouched down on the balls of her feet, placing one of her palms on the ground, while the other grasped one of the handles of her sword. "I owe him one on you and this is it." She moved so quickly she was able to land a blow on him, before he even realized it. She cut his torso and jumped away from him. He cursed and threw his triple-bladed scythe at her while she was in the air. She disappeared again and kicked him in the jaw then punched him with a chakra-filled fist at his chest. She almost didn't sense his blade coming at her from behind. She dodged it just as it sliced her arm. She cursed because she knew that once he had her blood, he would use that technique he used to kill Asuma. The dust cleared and she gasped. He already had the symbol ready and he had already started the jutsu. He laughed. "That was a very bad move, kunoichi. Now, you're under my curse."

Her mind scrambled, trying to figure out what to do. Then, she remembered about her Kekkei Genkai, the Shirayuki. She closed her eyes and waited for it to activate. She opened her eyes and Hidan cocked his head to the side. He knew about all her jutsus, yet he didn't know about this one. She did a hand sign. Sasuke and Naruto's eyes widened as a shadow stretched from under her towards Hidan. The only people who could do that were people that were part of the Nara Clan. Hidan just laughed and stabbed himself in the leg. She felt it, but didn't do anything about it. He noticed this and jumped out of the way just before it reached him.

She pulled out a flash bomb and threw it up behind her. It shone brightly, creating a long shadow. She held a hand sign in front of her and held her left hand out, aiming to have it under him. Once she was sure she couldn't miss, she made a fist, the shadow crushing Hidan. He yelled out as the light dissipated and the shadow disappeared. Sakura tied her hair up quickly and did more hand signs. The spectators watched as nothing happened. Hidan stood up and jumped over to the symbol. "You damn bitch! You'll pay for that." She noticed that the scythe wasn't with him.

_What?!_

She spun around. She froze. Blood dripped down her stomach and legs. Her body was numb as the scythe had pierced her stomach. She heard Hidan laughing. "This was the same thing I pulled on Asuma, the idiot. He never saw it coming. I knew you'd die by my hands."

She bowed her head and softly laughed. Soon it escalated in volume and everyone heard as she went into hysterics. "You think that I'd die by your hands? Ha! Don't make me laugh. Just because your other opponents were too simple-minded doesn't mean I am. And like I said, I don't like to lose." The cherry blossoms on her neck began to glow. She pulled the scythe out of her body as red chakra began to surround her. She smirked as she returned to her half demon form. When the chakra disappeared she was already gone. Hidan felt bow after blow that seemed to come out of nowhere. He looked around for any sign of. She landed up high above everyone, smiling like a Cheshire cat. "You didn't really think you could catch me, did you?" She disappeared again as the scythe took her place. He growled and pulled back his weapon. He heard crackling from his right and spun around just as Sakura forced the Chidori through his stomach. Everything went quiet as she pulled her hand back and Hidan fell back on the ground. He yanked on the cord and the scythe rammed into her again. She snarled and smeared some of her blood on her hand, forcing it into his wound. He screamed as he felt the poison from her blood burn his skin. "I admit defeat!" he shouted. She pulled back her hand and frowned. "I thought you would be a better opponent. You're just stupid is all."

Pein jumped down in front of her with a woman next to him. "Tell me what your Kekkei Genkai is."

"The Shirayuki. It can copy any jutsu, even ones that belong to a specific clan, dispel genjutsu, and other things."

He seemed to be debating something in his head before he said, "Alright, you are now part of the Akatsuki. You'll be working with Team Hawk to retrieve the Eight-Tails. Understood?"  
She nodded. A woman landed next to her. She had red hair that was short on one side and long on the other. Unlike the others, the collar of the cloak was folded down. She wore black-rimmed glasses and seemed to be glaring at her. "What do you want?" Sakura snapped, getting annoyed.

"You don't seem worthy to be with Sasuke-kun. He's mine, so but out."

"What?!" She felt like snapping her fist at the girls face, but didn't want to create a scene. "I don't know who you're talking to but you need to mind your own business. Wait a minute, I remember you. You're that Karin bitch that tried to kill me numerous times."

Karin glared. "Just because you have all these amazing jutsus doesn't mean that you should have the need to be a know-it-all and flaunt your body around like some sluttish whore."

"Whatever. I don't try and force myself on Sasuke when I know he doesn't want me, which in this case means you. You're more annoying than I was when I was a genin and I was annoying. How do you expect to get Sasuke when all you can do is sense chakra signatures with that Mind's Eye of the Kagura and I don't go around letting people bite me. I know it's because by doing that people can heal, but that just insane. You still have bite marks which makes you look sluttish, not me."

Karin made no comeback. Sakura smirked and disappeared out of the cave, heading back to Sasuke's room. Sasuke jumped down, along with Suigetsu and Juugo. Suigetsu sighed, "Geez, Karin. I could tell she was holding herself back from punching your face in."

"Please, like that thing could land a hit on me," she scoffed. "She's nothing but a fake. If she didn't have that Kekkei Genkai or that seal on her neck, she'd be a weak whore."

"Karin."

"Yes, Sasuke-kun?"

"Don't talk about Sakura like that. She is stronger than you even without those things. Show her respect."

Her face flushed. "Yes, Sasuke-kun."

Naruto jumped down, worry etching his face. "Something is different about Sakura-chan, teme. She's not the same." They started heading back to their rooms, leaving the other three behind, their sandals tacking against the tiled ground. "But I guess it's because you left and then I left her behind and never told her why."

Sasuke sighed. "I should apologize to her for hurting her."

Naruto nodded. "I think she'll forgive you, Sasuke."

"…"

"…"

"…"

Sigh.

"Thanks…Naruto." He pushed open his door and shut it as Naruto went into his room. The first thing he noticed was that his older brother was in the room. The second thing he noticed was that he was staring at Sakura, who was asleep and stretched out over the bed. "What do you want, Itachi?"

"What do you know about this kunoichi's life?" His eyes never strayed from her sleeping form, which irked Sasuke.

"Not much. She has no siblings, came from a civilian family, and was an apprentice to the Fifth Hokage. During the last year, she became a Sannin and the title of the greatest medic-nin was given to her."

Itachi shook his head. "You really don't know much. True, she did come from a civilian family but she did have siblings. She had two older siblings and a younger sister. Her older sister left Konoha and moved to Suna. Her older brother, Ichino Haruno, killed their entire clan before her eyes. He tied her up and carried her around, forcing her to watch them die. The only person he kept alive was his mother and Sakura. Their mother was pregnant with their younger sister, Sakuno. After she was born, their mother was alive for five more years before Ichino came back and killed her in her sleep."

"How old was Sakura when he killed her clan?"

"She was seven. I don't know the reason he did this or the details, but I know what he made her do and who he left alive."

"Is her younger sister still alive?"

He closed his eyes. "Her older sister, Yuka, may still be alive. Ichino is roaming around. He is in the bingo book. As for Sakuno, she left Sakura to go travel when she was twelve, sometime in the last year."

His eyes widened. "How come she never spoke about them?"

"Because one, the thought of revenge would be repulsive to her. Two, if she sought revenge who would take care of her sister if she left to her power?"

"Hn." He sat on the bed next to her and brushed her hair away from her face. She mumbled in her sleep and snuggled into the pillow. "I want to apologize to her, but I don't know what to do."

Itachi stood, heading for the door. "I'm sure you'll find out what to do. And just to let you know, before Yuka left and before I was ordered to kill our clan, Yuka and I were engaged to be married. And you were arranged at birth to be married to Sakura." He shut the door, glaring at the floor. "Yuka, where are you? You've gone missing from Suna and my life, and I miss you," he whispered softly.

The next morning Sakura woke up to someone knocking on the door. She groaned and snuggled into the warmth that was next to her. Arms wrapped around her waist and her eyes shot open. Sasuke had buried his face in her neck and pulled her into his arms. The knocking into pounding.

"Dammit, Sasuke! Open the freaking door. Get your dick out of your woman and get your ass out here, yeah!"

Sasuke snapped the door open and glared at the blonde. "What do you want, Deidara?"

"Leader is asking for you. Tobi is waking the others of Team Hawk. It's time to start going for the Eight-Tails again."

"Hn." He slammed the door shut and crawled back into bed next to Sakura, whose face had turned cherry red. He looked confused and amused at the same time. "What are you blushing about?"

She looked away. "It's nothing."

As the silence grew between them, he couldn't help but feel the urge to kiss her rose red lips. What Itachi said about the two of them being arranged to be married kept running through his mind. He didn't stop himself as his lips captured hers. Se was hesitant at first before she kissed him back. He pulled her flush against him as he licked her bottom lip. She pulled back, gasping for air. He kissed down her neck to her breasts. He sucked on her nipples through her shirt. She tangled her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer to her. He groaned. He pulled away and kissed her again.

She pulled back. "Sasuke, I have to let you know that I do love you, just not as much. I've gotten so used to the thought of you not being here that it's kind of hard for me to love you more. I'm sorry."

He nuzzled her neck. "Don't worry about it." He sighed and gave her forehead a kiss before getting up and pulling on his cloak and folding down the collar.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"It's got to be about sometime before ten. Why?"

"How long will you be gone?"

"Probably two weeks to a month." He leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss. "I promise to come back as soon as I can."

She nodded.

"Make sure that you stay close to Naruto and Itachi. They'll make sure that the others don't pester you too much."

"Ok."

As he turned to leave, she stood. She walked over to the door that had Naruto's name on it. She turned the handle and tip-toed in. The covers were thrown on the floor and he laid in his dark green boxers, sprawled across the bed. He smiled in his sleep and mumbled Hinata's name, hugging one of his pillows to him. She laughed softly and sat next to him, combing her fingers through his messy hair. He smiled in his sleep and she leaned down, "Naruto-kun, wake up. It's time to get up." She masked her voice to sound like Hinata's.

"I don't want to get up, Hina-chan. Just ten more minutes, please," he slurred.

"Naruto-kun, I need you to wake up now."

He groaned and slowly opened his eyes. When he saw her, he sighed and closed his eyes. "Hey Sakura-chan," he muttered.

She frowned and stood. "That hurts, Naruto. I thought you'd be at least a little happier to see me. I guess not, huh?" Her frowned deepened.

"You got it all wrong, Sakura. I am happy to see you. It's just that I wish I could see Hinata."

She smiled. "I know. You kept mumbling her name in your sleep." She sat back down next to him.

He blushed. "Sorry. How come you're not with the teme?"

"Pein wants his team to go after the Eight-Tails Demon. He said that I should stay near you and Itachi."

"He's right All the others are a bunch of perverts that'll probably rape you while Sasuke isn't here." He smiled at her and patted his chest. She smiled back and laid across his chest. He rubbed her back.

"Naruto, can I ask you question?"

"Sure."

"If you had the chance to go back to Konoha, like to be able to see Hinata, would you take it?"

There was a pregnant silence. "Yeah, I would. I never wanted to be here in the first place. It's because I lost to Sasuke in a fight. That's why I never returned. On our last night, when you made us dinner, I found the teme. He told me to come and fight him. If he won, I'd have to be a part of the Akatsuki. If I won, he'd come back."

She sat up. "Naruto, one of these days, you and I will return to Konoha and we'll see every one of our friends again."

He gave a soft smiled and hugged her close. "Yea, it's just that even if we do get out of here, they'll consider us Missing-nin. I doubt that they'll welcome us with open arms, unless they had weapons in their hands or something like that."

She laughed. "Naruto, I doubt that they'll do that"

It was quiet for a few minutes before he sat up with her. "Sakura, we need to make an escape plan to escape from here and go back to Konoha."


	5. Chapter 5: Plans

I forgot to mention before in the other chapters but, i don't own anything that is Naruto related. Sasuke probably would've been a bit nicer in the series if I did own it.

* * *

Back in Konoha, Kakashi had just returned from a search mission. Ever since he had started heading back to the village, he had a bad feeling that something was wrong. After he reported the mission successful to Tsunade, he headed over to Sakura's house. He pushed open the door, after finding the spare above the door frame and called, "Sakura dear, I'm home."  
He got no response. He walked into the kitchen and found a note on the table. He put his things down and opened it.

_Dear Kakashi,_

_Some things have come up and I have to leave. I couldn't bear the thought of Naruto not being here anymore and with my little sister gone, it's bringing even more damage. I don't expect to find my sister; even though I haven't given up on her. But I am going to look for Naruto. I promise to be back soon, so please don't worry about me. I miss you and everyone else already, sensei. =]._

_Sakura_

Kakashi ran out of the house with the note clutched in his hand, heading for the Hokage's Mansion He burst through the door and Tsunade looked up with blazing amber eyes. "Doesn't anybody ever–"

"Sakura's missing!"

"What?!"

He handed her the note and collapsed in the chair, slipping down his mask and beginning to cry. Tsunade's eyes scanned the note and they began to widen. She looked up at Kakashi.

"She went after…Naruto?"

He nodded.

She slammed her hands on the desk. "Have I taught her nothing?" Her eyes began to water. "They're all gone. All of Team Seven is gone; all for their own reasons." She fell back in her chair. "I don't know what to do," she mumbled.

_______________________

Naruto knocked on the door of Pein's office, Sakura behind him. "Come in," he said gruffly. They pushed the door open to find him scribbling something on a piece of paper. Konan stood behind him, folding a piece of paper into an origami flower. "What do you want, Naruto?"

"We want permission to go outside, sir."

Pein didn't look up from his paper. "I won't ask why you need to go to the outside world. So, go ahead."

"Thank you, sir." They both bowed and walked out of the office. Naruto stopped her and took her bandanna, wrapping it around her eyes. He gave her cheek a kiss and led her through the halls, heading back the way they came before. When they reached the outside, he pulled the blindfold off. She looked around and noticed that they were back in front of the lake.

"We need to make sure that we can sneak into the village without them sensing us," he said.

"I know. We'll just have to avoid people and keep our chakras covered with our guards up."

He nodded. They took off, running faster than they had going to the hideout.

Shikamaru, Shino, and Kakashi stood in Tsunade's office. "Your mission is to find Sakura and bring her back. If you're able to find Naruto, bring him back as well. If you get no clues about his whereabouts, come straight back here. Understand!"

"Hai!"

"Dismissed."

They disappeared from the office heading for the main gates. Meanwhile, Sakura and Naruto had just reached the main gates of Konoha. They jumped into the trees on either side of the path. They cloaked their chakra signatures. They saw Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Shino standing at the main gates. Both thought they were leaving for a mission. They saw Shino disappear in a swarm of bugs. They sat stock still in the trees.

Sakura heard a buzzing next to her ear and swatted it away. Naruto appeared next to her saying, "Sakura, we need to get by them without getting sensed and get to Tsunade-baa-sama." She nodded in agreement.

"You're not going anywhere."

They spun around and saw the three men that they had seen at the gate. They knew it was because of Shino they were found. Shikamaru did some hand signs. They jumped away before he did a shadow jutsu. They landed on the top of the wall that surrounded the village. They ran along the wall, heading for the Hokage's Mansion. Sakura didn't notice her Shirayuki had activated until she sensed a jutsu being conjured. She looked back and saw the shadow of Shikamaru's jutsu coming after her. "Naruto!"

"I know. Don't attack, Sakura-chan."

They jumped over a tree branch and noticed they were only thirty yards away form the mansion. Something caught Sakura's foot as she jumped over the branch and she fell on her face.

She looked back and saw a tree branch had wrapped around her ankle. The others were catching up. "Naruto!" The branch quickly bound her together and then covered her mouth, muffling her protests. Naruto went to cut her free when he froze. Shikamaru caught him with his jutsu. Yamato appeared next to Kakashi. She realized he was the reason the tree attacked her.

"Please, we only want to talk to Tsunade-sama," Naruto begged. "It's important."

"I'm sorry Naruto," Kakashi said, "but you're a Missing-nin, as well as Sakura. You'll both be put on trial and they'll decide your punishment."

Jiraiya was talking to Tsunade, trying to calm her down with Shizune's help. Tsunade had already downed two bottles of sake and she wasn't intending to stop there. She told them that she would drink her weight in sake. They heard someone knock and she said for them to come in. Kakashi and Yamato shoved Sakura and Naruto in her office bound and gagged. They forced them onto their knees. The other three were shocked at the scene. "You got them already?"

"They practically came to us," Kakashi said. Sakura and Naruto shuttered at his cold voice.

Yamato cut in. "Naruto told us he wanted to tell you something."

"Let them speak."

They untied the cloths from around their mouths. Sakura coughed and Naruto gagged. "Tsunade-sama, please you have to understand why we left," Naruto begged. "The day that I left a year ago, I had found Sasuke-teme in our village. He told me to meet him at the meeting point and fight him. If I lost, I had to join the Akatsuki. If I won, he'd come back." He bowed his head. "They kept me under tight surveillance to make sure I didn't leave or try to contact you."

Sakura started. "Four days ago, Sasuke came in my room to take me back with him. We ended up in the training field and he offered me the same compromise. I had a plan in mind and went willingly."

"Why didn't you say that in the note?" she slurred.

"He was watching me as I wrote the note. I couldn't put it in."

"Lady Hokage, they could be trying to trick us," Kakashi said.

"We would never do that. We were taken against our will," Naruto said.

"Except for Sakura," Jiraiya retorted.

"I had a plan."

"But you didn't think to warn us that something was happening," Tsunade thundered.

Naruto nudged Sakura's cheek with his nose. She looked at him with watery eyes. He shook his head and she buried her face in the crook of his neck as she sobbed quietly. He rubbed his cheek against her pink locks. Tsunade sighed, "I'm going to regret this: Untie them."

"Tsunade-sama, are you sure?" Yamato asked.

She nodded. They untied the ropes and Naruto hugged her tightly. He looked to Tsunade. "I ask you respectfully to listen to our plan."

She nodded. "Go on."

"To make sure nothing goes wrong we won't tell you the location of the headquarters. Every month, we'll come and give you any information that we've gathered on the Akatsuki members. Once we've given you all he information that we can get, we'll tell you the location. If any plans come up about attacking Konoha, we'll send a messenger bird letting you know about it.

She nodded. "Does Sasuke know about this?"

Sakura shook her head. "We came up with this plan today. Sasuke and Team Hawk left after the Eight-Tails Jinchuuriki-Bijuu."

Everything was quiet, everyone looking at each other, waiting for someone to speak. Jiraiya noticed the way they had communicated earlier. "Naruto, are you and Sakura dating again?"

They glared at him. "Brother-Sister relationship, duh!" they said in unison.

Both stood. "Tsunade-sama, this may be asking too much but, since we're not expected back for four more days. May we stay in my house?" Sakura asked.

"That's fine. Just don't let anyone see you. Kakashi, Yamato…make sure you don't tell anyone that they are here. Let Shikamaru and Shino know as well."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

* * *

Sorry that it's short but, that's all that came to mind. Ja Ne!


	6. Chapter 6: The Past & Questions

Sakura was sitting in her old room, staring at the wall in front of her. It was smeared with blood, just like every other room and wall in the house. The stench of death still touched her nose. She started to hear screams of agony and warm liquid splash onto her skin. She knew she was hallucinating. She was sitting in the house she used to live in before her clan's death. Though there wasn't that many Harunos as the Uchihas or Hyuugas, there were still many of them. Her clan even had their own Villa.

She laid back and thought of her family. He mother had reddish-pink hair with neon green eyes and her father had brown hair with forest green eyes. Yuka Haruno, her oldest sibling, had hot pink hair, neon green eyes, and a nice toned body. Her personality was much like Sakura's, but she was a little bit more tomboy-ish. Around the time that she was seventeen, Yuka would come home late at night and in a daze. One day, when she was eighteen, she had come home crying, claiming that her boyfriend had run away. They all knew that meant he became a Missing-Nin. Yuka cried for days on end. Just when they thought that she was going to be okay, she screamed one afternoon. Their parents rushed upstairs to figure out what was wrong. They never told Ichino or Sakura what happened. But they started to notice that her stomach was growing bigger. They didn't say anything because they knew she would get angry with them. Before her nineteenth birthday, Yuka suddenly decided to move to Suna. A couple days later, she was gone.

Sakuno Haruno had bright pink hair – brighter than Sakura's – with brown streaks in it and forest green, like their father. Her attitude was bubbly and happy. On the few missions she had decided to tell Sakura about she had done pretty well; almost better than Sakura on her missions before the Chunin Exams. Sakuno can remember very little about their mother. She told Sakura that she remembered the way their mother would smile lovingly at them. She remembered how she came home one day crying. When their mother asked what happened, Sakuno asked why she didn't have a father. Their mother's response was that he was on a mission. When their mother was killed, they had come home after spending some time at the Yamanaka Flower Shop. They went into their mother's room to find her laying in her bed, the mattress soaked with her blood. Sakura had quickly covered Sakuno's eyes and dragged her away into her room. She had sent a messenger bird to the military police station, not knowing who else to call. Sakura remembered seeing Sasuke's father come in and calm them down while others carried their mother's body out of the house. Sasuke was there, standing in the doorway watching them carry the dead body out. Sakuno ran out of Sakura's arms and tackled Sasuke yelling for him to stop watching her mother's body. Sasuke just shoved her away calling her annoying. Sakura punched him in the arm, telling him to be nice to her younger sister. After interrogating the two sisters they left, leaving the two Haruno sisters alone. The Third Hokage had helped them with money, like he had been helping Naruto.

Then, comes Ichino Haruno. Yuka's younger brother, Sakura and Sakuno's older brother. He had their father's brown hair and emerald green eyes like Sakura. He'd always been kind to her and Yuka before everything changed. He would comfort her whenever she came home crying because people made fun of her. He would spoil her when he could which was at least two times a year: Christmas and her birthday. He had become an Anbu at the age of fifteen, when she was four and when Yuka was eighteen by then and she was Jonin. At the age of eighteen, when she was seven and Yuka had already moved to Suna, everything changed.

She came home late one night after playing with Ino. She had opened the door to find it deathly quiet. She called her for her mother, seeing as her father had left for a mission. But she got no response. "Ichi-nii, are you home?"

She saw a figure sitting on the couch. She quickly flipped the light switch to find Ichino. She breathed a sigh of relief. "It's only you, Onii-chan. Where's Kaa-chan?"

He stood and slowly walked towards her. She started backing up when she noticed his glare. He grabbed her roughly by the arm and tied her up with chakra strings. "Ichino, what are you doing?!" she cried.

"I'm going to show you something, imooto. It won't be pleasant and I'm sorry that you have to witness this. But everyone in our clan will die tonight." He unsheathed his sword. "And nothing is going to stop me. Not even if you beg me to stop."

Ichino carried Sakura under his arms, looking for any remaining people. Sakura had become silent long ago when she realized that begging him to stop wasn't working. Blood matted her hair and clothes and was smeared on her skin. When she fell quiet, she just stared into oblivion. She would stare as her family begged for their lives, only to be slaughtered. Dead bodies littered the ground, laying in their own pools of blood. These images became engrained into her mind. In the back of his mind Ichino had become worried about her mental health, not that he hadn't thought about it before.

"Ichino, stop!"

He spun around just as their heavily pregnant mother, Miako, hugged him tightly. She sobbed into his shirt. His sword clattered to the ground as he hugged her back with his free hand.

"Please stop this, Ichino, just stop."

"Okaa-sama…please forgive me."

She nodded numbly. "I do…Just please stop."

He whispered in her ear, "Listen to me carefully. I'll allow you to live for five more years. When I return your life will end. But I'll keep Sakura-chan and my other imooto alive." He placed his hand on her bulging stomach. "Understand?"

She nodded solemnly. He pulled away from her and gently set Sakura down on the ground. She stared blankly at the stars. Ichino knelt down in front of her, brushing her blood-soaked hair from her face. "Imooto?" She looked at him. "I have to leave, okay?"

"Why?"

"There are things I must do. Please stay safe for me. I'll return soon."

She nodded and then passed out.

Sakura sat up suddenly, screaming, "Ichino, no!" Her eyes were wild with fear as she looked around, gasping for air. Kakashi and Tsunade sat on either side of her, but she didn't see Naruto, which bothered her a lot. Tears dribbled down her cheeks and plopped on her shirt.

"Sakura, what happened?"

She hugged Kakashi tightly. "I saw him, Kakashi. Ichino is haunting me again."

He rubbed her back gently. "It's okay. He's not here and he won't get you. Everything will be okay." Kakashi had gone to her apartment earlier to talk to her and Naruto. But when Naruto told him that Sakura had gone to the Haruno Villa he ran over, worried that she would end up reliving her nightmare. He remembered when she would stay in his and Genma's apartment when Naruto had left. Anytime she did, she'd always if he would leave her all alone and he'd always tell her that he wouldn't.

Tsunade reached out and stroked Sakura's hair. "Kakashi found you in your old room, screaming. You wouldn't wake up no matter what we did."

She pulled away from Kakashi, wiping her tears. "Where's Naruto?"

"He went to make sure there were no Akatsuki members near the village. He'll be back soon," Kakashi replied. "You should rest yourself."

"Will you stay with me?"

He nodded. Tsunade stood and left. Only then did Sakura notice that they were back in her apartment. She slipped under the covers, watching Kakashi strip down to his boxers, leaving on his mask that was connected to his shirt. He climbed in next to her.

"Kakashi?"

"Yeah?"

"You won't leave me, right?"

"No. Will you leave me?"

She shook her head. "I've always thought of you as my Tou-san since my father never returned. I could never leave you, Kakashi-Tou-san."

He smiled behind his mask. "Thank you, ojoo-san." He hugged her tightly as they bother drifted to sleep.

Naruto landed next to a watch-post on the wall surrounding the village. A woman stood at the post, her waist-length hair blowing behind her as the wind blew. "What are you doing out here, Naruto?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

She smirked. "Just observing."

He pointed an accusing finger at her. "You dirty liar."

She laughed. "I finally see why Sakura-chan always finds you funny."

"Don't change the subject."

"Nothing gets by you, Naruto."

"That's what Sasuke-teme said," he grumbled.

"Do you think she'll be happy to see me again?"

"Who?"

"Sakura."

"Of course she will. It's be shocking if she wasn't."

"Do you think I can see her in the morning?"

He nodded. "That's the best time to do it."

She laughed. "She's still hates morning, huh?"

He rubbed his neck. "Nearly chocked me to death one time."

She laughed. "That's Sakura-chan for you." She looked up at the crescent moon high above their heads.

_______________________

The next morning, Sakura rolled over and stretched. She rolled once more and fell off the bed. She groaned and rubbed her head, feeling dizzy at the impact of the fall. She heard chuckling above her. Kakashi leaned over the side of the bed. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine just quit laughing at me."

"I'm sorry."

She hoisted herself up and pushed him over as she climbed back into bed. "Kakashi?"

"Hm?"

"Can you make me breakfast?"

"Scrambled or fried? Sausage or bacon? Milk or orange juice? Toast or homemade?"

"Can I have scrambled, bacon, orange juice, and toast?"

He smiled behind his mask and kissed her forehead. He stood and left the room, heading downstairs. Sakura snuggled into the pillows, drifting to back to sleep when she heard a plate shatter.

"Kakashi, you really shouldn't be breaking the dishes," she heard a woman say. Sakura shot out of bed and rushed downstairs. No one besides her, Naruto, and Kakashi were supposed to be in the house. She stopped on the bottom step, staring in shock at the woman kneeling down, picking up the shards of the dropped plate. Neon green met emerald green as the woman looked up. She smiled at Sakura as she dumped the shards in the trash. "Sakura-chan, it's good to see you again."

Sakura's jaw went slack. "Y…Yuka-chan…you're back." Her eyes narrowed. "Where have you been? Anytime I went to Suna, I could never find you."

"Imooto, we need to talk. But first, you need to tell me where everyone else is. I have to tell Kaa-san about Suna. She's always wanted to see what it looks like. Ichino will be happy to hear about some of the women–"

"They're dead," Sakura whispered softly.

Yuka stopped and stared. "What?"

"They're dead, Yuka. I couldn't stop Ichino as he forced me to watch them get slaughtered by his hands. He killed our entire clan. Kaa-chan had a baby and named her Sakuno. Ichino returned five years later and killed Kaa-chan."

Yuka sat down in a chair. "No way. Ototo wouldn't do that. That softy loved our clan. He…That had to have been an impostor! Ichino wouldn't do that!"

"Sakura isn't lying, Yuka," Kakashi said. "Miako even reported to the military police what happened. Ichino is in the bingo books now."

"I…I can't believe Ototo…why would he…I don't understand."

"None of us do." Everything was silent. Yuka took a deep breath and looked at her younger sister. "So, the Akatsuki, huh? I didn't think that you'd be willing to join them."

"I wasn't. Naruto was taken against his will. I only joined because I had a plan in mind. As for Sasuke, he joined after he learned the truth about his brother's intentions for killing their entire clan."

"You mean to tell me that Itachi killed them?" Sakura nodded. "So that's why he ran away," she muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing. You know, your outfit that you wear in the Akatsuki is so boring. We need to snazzy it up a bit."

"Yuka, I don't think that–"

"We're just modifying it a bit, not a whole lot. I'll just get what I need and I'll be back soon." She left before Sakura could say anything. Kakashi came up and hugged her. "Don't worry. I think your sister is just happy to see you and just wants to help."

"This isn't helping. It's called deliberately coming back into my life without my permission."

Naruto came staggering down the stairs, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What with all the commotion? I heard yelling," he yawned.

"Yuka was here. She left just a few minutes ago." She thought. "Naruto, you didn't have anything to with Yuka coming here, did you?"

"N-No, not at all, S-Sakura-chan." He noticed her eyes narrow. "You know, I'm still tired. I think I'll go back to bed." He dashed back upstairs and shut the door. Sakura and Kakashi sighed. Sakura sat down in a chair at the kitchen table while Kakashi stared making her breakfast.

"Why do you think Yuka just suddenly decided to come back and why didn't she know about what happened to our clan? I mean, Kaa-chan had sent a letter her telling her what happened."

"Maybe Yuka had moved to a different place by the time it reached Suna," Kakashi suggested

"Nah, I know Yuka. She's not one to move around a lot, if at all. Plus, this happened about two or three years after she left. I don't think that she would move after three years. It took all her will power just to move out of Konoha, the village that she loves."

"So, you think maybe she's deciding to move back here?"

"I don't know. But what keeps bugging me is that before she left her stomach was getting bigger, meaning that she must've been pregnant. So, who's the father and where's her child?"

"I remember seeing Yuka and Itachi together some times, walking hand in hand."

"Not uh."

He nodded. "Oh, yeah. I even saw them kissing once."

She thought for a minute. "You don't think that Itachi could be the father, do you?"

He shrugged. "Who knows? You know how I have a student on my team of genin that looks like he could be your child if you had one with Sasuke?" She nodded. "Well, if I think about it, he also kinda looks like Yuka and Itachi's kid, if they had one."

"But if it is, wouldn't that mean that Yuka abandoned him?"

He nodded. "Well, maybe not abandoned, but gave away. I have met his parents and he looks nothing like them. He probably doesn't know that he could've been adopted."

"You have to talk to Tatsuya and/or some time before I leave. If I ask Yuka, she'll just deny that she had a kid or that she was even pregnant. For all I know, i could have a nephew and not even know it. Which is kinda bad."


	7. Chapter 7: Get The Facts

Disclaimer: I don't Naruto or anything related to it. =/

* * *

Kakashi and his team were in Training Ground 12 later that morning. Akira and Tatsuya were fighting each other while Shiori and Kakashi sat on the side, watching. Kakashi had left the house earlier, telling Sakura that he would be back around three for some lunch. When he was leaving, Yuka was about to knock having a bag full of things on her shoulder.

Akira had bright blonde hair that was always messy, not matter how much he tried to tame it. He wore a dark green shirt and blue pants, his kunai holster strapped to is right leg. He could always be found watching the clouds roll by in the sky whenever he wasn't do anything. Some thought for a while that it was Shikamaru's kid, which angered Ino. But he had none of his traits. He just liked to watch clouds. He said that he saw Shikamaru doing one day and copied him just to see what was so cool about watching clouds, only to find that it was calming. He would always say that he could be sleeping instead of doing whatever he's supposed to do.

Tatsuya had ebony colored hair that hung in his face to keep his grass green eyes hidden from everyone. People always said that whenever he wore dark clothes, which was all the time, his eyes seemed to turn into an onyx color. He wore a black sleeveless top with a black jacket over it. Whenever Kakashi was with his students walking through town, he'd here others whispering to each other how he looked so much like Sasuke, Itachi, or both. Tatsuya had the attitude of both Uchiha's. He was always stubborn and always giving the famous 'hn' answer. Which always seemed to bother Shiori, the female of the team.

Shiori would be the Naruto of their team. She was loud sometimes and somehow always finding herself in trouble. But whenever Kakashi would be the one to catch her, she always seemed to change into an innocent girl, not that anyone fell for it. She had fooled Akira and Tatsuya once or twice but they saw through her after that. Her platinum blonde hair was a huge contrast to the dark colors that she wore. She always wore the most hideous clothes that she could find. Today, it happened to be an over-sized black t-shirt that made it look like she had no figure and baggy blue pants that had to be held up with a black belt with small spikes on it. She watched intently with grey eyes as Tatsuya grabbed Akira by the arms and flung him up in the air before disappearing and doing a Barrage of Lions on him. Akira coughed up blood as Tatsuya stood by him.

Akira glared at him. "Damn. I lost."

Tatsuya helped him up. "Whatever. Are we done now?"

Kakashi looked up from his book. "Of course. Shiori and Akira can leave. Tatsuya, I need to talk to you about something."

Shiori stood and grinned. "See ya tomorrow, Kakashi-sensei." She ran off, heading back towards town. Akira just nodded and disappeared, probably gone to watch clouds. Tatsuya waited five minutes before Kakashi marked his page in his book and stood. "Follow me, Tatsuya." He turned, not waiting for the boy to give him an answer. He heard the soft tacking of his sandals against the ground. He smirked behind his mask. Sakura would probably kill him for bringing the boy to her house, especially when she was considered a Missing-Nin and no one was supposed to know she and Naruto were back in the village for a while.

"Hey, where are we going?"

"I' taking you to meet a friend of mine. She's really nice. Just be careful what you say around her. She has Tsunade's temper."

"Does that mean she's an old woman?"

Kakashi held back his laugh. "No, she's not old. She's only twenty years."

"Hn."

They came to an apartment and were about to go up the steps when they heard yelling coming from inside. The door swung open and Kakashi saw Sakura shoving Yuka out of her apartment. Tatsuya watched the scene in confusion.

"I can't believe you!" Sakura shouted.

"I'm sorry. I know I should've told you earlier but it never came up."

"Never came up? I practically had to strap you down to a chair to get you to talk. How could you keep that from me?"

Yuka grew angry. "Well, at least I'm not the one that's trying to replace our parents with impostors. if you hate me so much, maybe I don't want to see you ever again."

"Fine! Go ahead and leave. See if I care."

"Fine, I will." Yuka disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sakura let out a yell of frustration and banged her head against the door frame. Kakashi grabbed Tatsuya by the wrist and dragged him up the few steps. Sakura finally noticed the two and her face flushed. "How long have you two been standing there?"

"As soon as you shoved her out of the place. I won't ask what happened but I expect you to tell me some time."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever Tou-san." She looked behind him and saw Tatsuya. "Hey, how's it going?"

"Hn." He looked away from her.

She shook her head and stepped back inside to let them come in. They walked in and Tatsuya shut the door. Sakura was in the living room, cleaning up the mess that Yuka must've created when she was working on Sakura's modification on her outfit. While she was cleaning up, she asked, "So, why'd you bring Tatsuya here even though you know that no one else is supposed to know that I'm here."

"I know. But I brought him here so that you could talk to him about his past. I'm not sure what you wanted me to find out, so I decided to bring him here."

She crammed everything in the bag that Yuka had earlier and placed it next to the stairs. "Okay. You can just sit on the couch there. I'll be right back. Kakashi, can you go check to see if our other is alright? He was freaked out at the argument."

"Sure." He ran upstairs while Sakura went into the kitchen to wash her hands. She grabbed a towel and dried her hands, then walked back into the living room, sitting across from the genin. "So, I was wondering if you would answer some of the questions I have for you."

His eyes narrowed. "That depends. What are they and what's in it for me?"

"Well, I don't know what you want."

"I want to know about you with my own questions."

"Okay. How about this: We'll take turns asking questions. I'll ask first and then you can go." He nodded and she smiled. "Alright. Can you tell me a bit about your family?"

"My mom's kind and understanding. She's the person I got to when I have trouble with something. My father is really just my mother's cousin. He has a big ego and is always training me if I ask him. The thing that bothers me is that everyone in my family has different eyes than me. They all have pale eyes with no pupils. But I have dark green eyes."

"I see your point. Your turn."

"What's your family like?"

She sighed. "I have three siblings and my parents are dead. My father never returned from his mission and my mother was killed when I was thirteen. I have a younger sister that left the village not too long ago to go traveling. I think she only planned to go to Suna and back. My older brother disappeared thirteen years ago after something tragic happened to my clan. My oldest sibling, my sister, is the one that you saw being shoved out of my house. She moved to Suna when I was four, I think, and never returned any letters that we sent her. At that time I didn't know why she decided to leave. What's your mother's name?"

"Hinata Hyuuga and her cousin is Neji Hyuuga."

Her eyes widened. "Holy shit! I can't believe that they're taking care of you. I've gone over to her place thousands of times and never saw you there. Well you were probably training or something."

"Did you find out the reason your sister left?"

"Apparently my sister was dating somebody and she hadn't told me, my brother, or father, just my mother and she kept it a secret. One day she came home crying that her boyfriend was missing, that he had left the village but she didn't know why. About a month later, she was up in her room and she screamed. My mother went to find out what happened. She came back down saying that it was nothing, even though it wasn't that convincing. Her stomach grew bigger with each month. By the fifth month, she said that she was going to move to Suna. A week later she was gone. Earlier today, she told me that she left because she was pregnant and that our mother had told her that she wouldn't be able to stay in the house because we couldn't afford another child in the house. So, she moved to Suna, but by the time her child was born, she realized that she couldn't take care of it because she was poor. So, she snuck into Konoha and dropped the child off at someone's house. I don't know who's though."

"That's weird because I have dreams sometimes that I see her and she's smiling at me, calling me her son."

Sakura seemed to consider something and then asked, "Have you had any other dreams about her?"

"Sometimes I see her carrying a child in her arms while running through a forest. She doesn't seem to be in a hurry or anything. But I never see where she ends up because I wake by then. Sometimes she's sitting in a forest in front of a campfire, playing with the child, making it laugh."

It was silent before he asked, "What was the tragic thing that happened that made your brother run away?"

"He forced me to watch him slaughter everyone in our clan except for me and my pregnant mother. Five years later, when my sister was five, he came back and killed her in her sleep."

"I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "That was a long time ago. I doesn't matter anymore. I'm just determined to hunt him down. He's in the bingo books now."

Kakashi came back down the stairs. "Our other is alright. He's asleep."

She sighed. "Figures."

"Got all your answers?"

She nodded. "I think I've got everything covered."

"Good. Tatsuya, we need to get going or your mother's going to be worried."

He stood. "Hn." He looked at Sakura. "What's your name?"

"I can't tell you yet. But whatever you do, don't tell anyone that you met me." He raised an eyebrow. "It's because by the time you tell everyone, I'll already be gone."

"Whatever." He walked out and Kakashi gave her a quick hug. "Be careful."

"I will. See ya."

"I might drop by tomorrow before you leave."

She nodded and watched the two men leave. She shut the door and went upstairs, knocking on the door that Naruto was behind. "Naruto, can I come in?" She heard snoring coming from the other side. "I should've known he wouldn't be awake yet." She walked into the room and closed the door behind her. She climbed into the bed next to him and laid across his chest. As she got comfortable, she felt his arms cage her to him. She had a feeling that Tatsuya would have the attitude like Sasuke and, or, Itachi. But he also had a bit of her older sister's kindness. She wondered when Hinata and Neji would tell him that he was adopted. Probably never, hoping that his real mother would never show up. She closed her eyes and went to sleep knowing that the next morning they would have to leave.

* * *

So, does Tatsuya really know who his mother is? Doesn't he suspect that he might be adopted? What happens next???


	8. Chapter 8: Reasons & Leaving

Disclaimer: I don't Naruto or anything related to it. =/

* * *

Sasuke and Team Hawk had stopped for the night after losing track of the Eight-Tails. They had been pursuing him for the past two days and then Karin had suddenly lost track of his chakra signature. The only reasonable explanation that they could come up with was that he had made a clone of himself. So, now they were sitting around a campfire, munching on the fish they had cooked. Karin scooted a bit closer to Sasuke. He gave her a side-long glare and continued to eat. But she didn't notice.

"Sasuke-sama?"

"What, Juugo?"

"Forgive me if it's none of my business but I was wondering if the Sakura girl had become yours. Or more of what reasons did you bring her to the Akatsuki?"

"I have my reasons, Juugo."

"Well, if she's not your woman, is she up for grabs? She's got a real hot body that any man would die for," Suigetsu said.

"Why her? She's an ugly bitch. I don't understand how you could fawn over her," Karin scoffed.

"Well, for one she ain't no screaming banshee, that's for sure. Two, she can actually make she hair look good, unlike. you You just look like a retard. Three, she's got more curves that you will ever have. Four, she's got the title of Sanin and the top medic-nin. I'd want her to heal me every time I get injured. I'd love to have her hands all over me."

"Suigetsu, you're so disgusting and you have bad taste in women. Like I said before, if she didn't have that Kekkei Genkai or that demon inside of her, she'd be weak. That Hokage of hers probably wouldn't have even trained her."

"Tsunade trained her because she _was_ weak," Sasuke interrupted.

"Seriously. It's no wonder she's got that old hag's inhuman strength. I'm never going to fight her," Suigetsu shuttered.

"Sasuke-sama, what does her Kekkei Genkai do?"

"I don't know. She barely told Pein what it does."

"Why do we keep talking about her? What's so special about her?"

Sasuke looked at Juugo. "You wanted to know why I brought her to the Headquarters." Juugo nodded. "Because one of these days, she will be carrying my child in her womb."

"Damn, that means she's not up for grabs." Sasuke glared at Suigetsu. "Fine, fine, I'll keep my thoughts about her in my mind."

"No, you won't about her at all, understand?" He gave him a glare that could melt ice.

He gulped. "Sure, sure. Got it, no problem."

Sasuke 'hn-ed' and jumped into a tree. "I'm keeping watch tonight. We're leaving at sunrise to Cloud."

"Yes, Sasuke-sama."

____________

Sakura woke the next morning to find that she was alone in the bed. She sat up and looked around, finding Naruto sitting on the window sill staring out into the morning sky. "Naruto, what are you doing? Someone might see you."

"Hinata."

"What?"

He glanced at her before looking back outside. "I see Hinata but, she has a boy with her. I didn't know that she got married already."

Sakura got out of the bed and stood next to him, seeing Hinata walking with Tatsuya. "Naruto, that's her adoptive son, Tatsuya. She's not married. She doesn't even have a boyfriend yet. His supposed 'father' is Neji. If our plan goes right and we can end things quickly without anyone dieing, then I'm sure you can come back and get with Hinata, if she's willing to do so. But until then we have to hope that she's like me and never gives up on you like I never gave up on Sasuke."

"I thought you did."

"I didn't, I just got used to the fact that he wasn't here and may never come back again." She ran her fingers through his hair. "Don't worry, Naruto. Everything will be alright."

He suddenly pulled her to him and buried his face in her stomach. She heard him sobbing. Her expression softened as she patted his head. "Shh, it's alright."

"I miss, Hinata, Sakura. I really miss her. I want to talk to her and laugh with her and all that, but I can't because of that stupid teme," he cried.

"I know, I know. I wish there was something that I could do for you Naruto."

He didn't say anything, just held her tighter. She reached over and closed the blinds not wanting to take the chance of someone seeing them. She unwound his arms from around her waist. He looked up surprised and confused. She pulled him to the bed and laid down. He crawled in next to her and resumed his previous position, his face nestled in her stomach. "I miss Konoha. I want to come back so badly."

"Me too, Naruto. Me too." Before they knew it, they had drifted off to sleep again.

_ Knock, Knock……Knock, Knock……_

They both groaned and rolled away from each other. She looked at the time and saw that it was already three in the afternoon. She heard the door to the apartment open and someone walk in. She looked over her shoulder and whispered, "Naruto?"

"I know. But I don't know who it is."

She slipped out of the bed and crept towards the stairs. She saw Kakashi and three other kids with him. One of them was Tatsuya. She guessed that this was his team. Her eyes widened. The girl saw the bag that Yuka had brought and was digging through it. "Kakashi-sensei, whose stuff is this?"

"Leave that stuff alone, Shiori." Kakashi spotted her and gave a small nod. He took the bag from the girl and told them, "Stay in the living room. I'll be right back."

"Yes, sensei."

Sakura ran back into the room and waited for Kakashi to come in. When he did, she quietly closed the door. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you I'd be back before you left, didn't I?"

She sighed. "What are your students doing here?"

"I felt like bringing them with me."

She snatched the bag from him. "Whatever." She looked at Naruto who was laying on the bed watching the ceiling. She sighed again. "Naruto, we need to get dressed so we can go. We need to leave within the next forty-five minutes."

He nodded. She tossed him the clothes that Yuka had made for him. He made at face at it. "Why am I wearing this?"

"Because Yuka's gone and I don't know where she is. So, I thought it'd be best if we wore what she made for us."

He nodded, understanding what she meant. Kakashi stood near the door, to make sure none of his students tried to get into the room. Naruto wore black pants that looked like that orange ones he used to wear and not shirt. His Akatsuki cloak had been cut so that it was short in the front and long in the back. The sleeves had been cut and modified so that it stopped at his elbows and fit around his muscles. Yuka had messed with the collar a bit so that it wasn't as high and thin as before. Naruto zipped up the clock only half way so that he could show off his pecs. He wore black fingerless gloves that ended just before his elbows.

Sakura had put her hair in pigtails, much like Tsunade. Yuka had taken Sakura's red top that she used to wear and cut in half, making it like a mid-drift, showing off her toned stomach. The zipper had been mess with so that it stopped just high enough that she showed off some cleavage. The black pants shorts she wore had pink lines going up the sides of the pant legs. Yuka had found some black gloves and had sewn on the Haruno circle on the back. Yuka had taken the part of the clock she cut from Naruto's and added it to Sakura's. The front was still short, but the back was longer with a hug slit going up both sides. Sakura tied a pink obi with sakura pelts embroidered on it around her waist outside of the clock, and then slipped her arm out of the jacket so that it folded over the obi in the back. (A/N: Check my profile to see the pictures of their outfits.)

Sakura stuffed the outfit Yuka had done for Sasuke in a pack and flung it over her shoulder Naruto opened the window, ready to jump out. Sakura hugged her ex-sensei quickly. "I'll miss you, Kakashi."

"Same here. I'll tell Tsunade that you guys left. Go ahead and get back to your headquarters."

She nodded. She gave his cheek a kiss and then jumped onto Naruto's back. He gave a small wave to Kakashi and then they disappeared. He sighed and picked the bag up, folding it, and put it under his arm. He went back downstairs and saw his students sitting there like angels. "I'm not believing that you three actually sat here while I was gone doing nothing. Who snuck upstairs?"

Both boys pointed to Shiori. She bowed her head. "I'm sorry, sensei. But I was curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat, Shiori. In your case, curiosity killed the ninja. Let's go, we need to head to Tsunade's office before we go training."

As they were walking down the road, Tatsuya noticed two black clocks jumping over building tops. His eyes narrowed when he saw pink. _Who was that woman and how does she know Kakashi-sensei?_

___________

"Naruto, where are we headed?" She flipped over a tree branch as she jumped through the tree next to her companion. She had realized that they weren't heading in the right direction, unless they were taking a detour, which she highly doubted that they were.

"We're going to Cloud."

"Why? What's there for us?"

"The Eight-Tails Jinchuuriki. Killer Bee, the host of the Jinchuuriki, has always seemed to avoid getting caught by Sasuke-teme and his team. The first time he used a substitution. Rumors have it that he's still living in Cloud. You'd think that he'd move after that."

"I guess he's a thick-headed as you are."

"I am not thick-headed!"

"Okay, maybe you're not, but you're pretty dense some times."

"What's that's supposed to mean?"

She sputtered. "One, it means the same ting as thick-headed. Two, Naruto, Hinata has been in love with you since before we graduated from the academy. But you were too dense to notice. After you left, Hinata locked herself in her room for hours on end, only coming out to use the bathroom or eat. She's been miserable. That boy you saw with her believes that she's his mother. He had to have been devastated when he saw her so depressed."

"Wait a minute, if Hinata adopted the boy and he's thirteen, wouldn't he realize that she's only twenty-one?"

"She probably tells him that she's at least ten years older than that."

"Anyways, getting back on subject, Pein's been getting fed up that Killer Bee keeps avoiding Team Hawk, so we have to go and be their back up. We can only associate with them when they're not looking for him, okay?" She nodded. "If we don't capture him this time, we're going to be screwed. Pein will be so furious. Last time we barely got out of there with our lives. It took Konan, Tobi, Deidara, Kisame, Itachi, and Kakuzu to pin him down because he was so furious. That's one of the reason's why we try not to piss him off because he'll go crazy."

"Well, we better pick up the pace if we want to get there before he escapes from them."

He nodded. They channeled the chakra in their feet and sped up towards Cloud.

* * *

AHHHHH!!!! This chapter sucked!!!! I wanted to it to be better. T_T Oh, well. Ja Ne!


	9. Chapter 9: Cloud

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Naruto or anything related to it.

* * *

Suigetsu walked into a restaurant and sat at the bar, the rim of his kasa hat pulled low down. He kept his eyes downcast, being careful not to make eye contact with anyone. Someone climbed onto the stool next to him and ordered a shot of vodka. He shifted his eyes to the left and saw Juugo sitting in a booth, giving him a small nod. He looked to the right and saw Killer Bee sitting next him just as he slammed the shot glass down on the counter. "MORE!" he shouted. The bartender, a bit afraid of the man, poured more into the class. Suigetsu turned to him and said, "Excuse me sir, you look familiar, yet I don't think we've ever met."

He set the glass on the counter. "The name's Killer Bee. You've probably seen me in posters or something. The damned Akatsuki is after me too."

"May I ask why?"

"I've got the Eight-Tails sealed inside of me. They want it. But I won't fucking let them get their filthy hands on it."

Sasuke and Karin stood outside the bar, listening with earpieces, keeping their faces hidden under the rim of their straw hats. Sasuke was getting impatient. He pressed the button on his earpiece. "Suigetsu quit stalling and hurry up."

He heard Sasuke through the earpiece and gritted his teeth. _When will he quit complaining at me?_ "Well, the best of luck to ya, buddy." He patted his shoulder. "Gotta get going."

Killer Bee only nodded and demanded another shot. Juugo stood and walked out, leaving a small tip on the table. They both walked out and passed by the other two on their team. Sasuke and Karin waited five minutes before going after them. Suigetsu and Juugo went into a small hotel and headed to a room.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Sakura had just reached the outskirts of the Hidden Cloud Village. They sat high in the trees, waiting for a signal that they could go in. Sakura sighed. "What kind of signal are we looking for anyway? We've been sitting here for the past two hours."

"Honestly, I don't know. We'll just have a keep a sharp eyes."

She hit him over the head. "You said you knew what the signal was."

"I only said that so I could stop you from just charging in there. You obviously forgot that you had on the Akatsuki jacket."

She huffed. "Whatever. I wish that Sasuke would hurry up with the signal."

They heard an eagle cry out in the sky. They quickly hid, making sure that it didn't see them. But it must've. It swooped down and landed on the branch next to Naruto. They noticed that it had a note attacked to its foot. Naruto untied it and the eagle flew away. Sakura went to his side as he opened the piece of paper. In quickly scribbled handwriting was written, _this is your signal._ He tore the note up and they quickly donned their cloaks, quickly stuffing them in their packs. Sakura reached in and pulled out a red skirt that looked much like the one she used to wear. They jumped down and entered the village, wearing the kasa hats that Akatsuki members wore. But people ignored them, thinking that they were just another couple. Sakura had put her hair in a bun, making sure no one saw her hair to attract any unwanted attention.

Juugo walked around the town, looking for any signs of Sakura and Naruto. He sighed. "Sasuke-sama will be mad if I don't find them soon," he muttered. He bumped into someone and gave a quick apology. The woman in the hat grabbed his arm before he could leave. He looked down at her. "Is there something wrong, miss?"

She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. He saw emerald eyes and pink hair tied up under the straw hat and the man next to her winked at Juugo with cerulean blue eyes. Juugo nodded and told them to follow him. They weaved their way through the massive crowd. They came to a hotel and walked to the back, knocking on the door. It opened slightly. After seeing who it was, Suigetsu opened the door fully. "For a minute, I thought you'd never find them."

The three walked in as he closed and locked the door. Naruto flopped on the bed. "You shouldn't assume such stupid things, Suigetsu," Juugo responded.

Sakura sat down next to Naruto. Karin stood and hovered over Sakura. This irked her. "What the hell are hovering for, Karin? It's pissing me off."

"Nothing."

Sakura grabbed her by the collar and pushed her onto the floor. "People don't do things for no reason, retard." Her Shirayuki was activated as she seethed at the red-head. "I know what your thoughts are, so don't try and tell me you were doing that for nothing."

"Or what? You can't do anything."

Sakura unsheathed one of her swords, holding it above Karin's face. "Say it again."

"Gladly. You can't–" She stopped. Sakura thrust her sword into the carpet right next to Karin's neck. It grazed her skin, blood trickling down. Her eyes were wide with shock. Sakura leaned down closed to her ear. "One of these days, when he has no more use for you, I'll kill you. You can't escape your death, _Karin_." She got up and sheathed her sword. She looked over her shoulder at Sasuke, who was sitting in a chair in a dark corner. "Where's the tracker?"

He threw a device at her. She caught it and pressed a couple of buttons. She sat down as she saw a red dot appear on the green screen. She saw the outlines of the village and then saw a blue dot not far away from the red one. "He's not far from here. I'll check him every forty-five minutes to check his position."

Sasuke stood and grabbed her wrist. "We're going out. Everyone else is to stay here." He didn't wait for their answer as he slammed the door shut behind them. He dragged Sakura out of the village and jumped into a tree, landing on one of the highest branches. He looked around, making sure that no one could see them. "Sakura, there's something wrong with my eyes."

"Boy, you don't beat around the bush do you?"

"There's no point in wasting time."

"Well, if you overuse the Mangekyo or Tsukuyomi or any of those advanced techniques of the Sharingan, you'll strain your eyes and become blind. I'm sure that's not what you want."

"Fix it."

"I can only fix it when we have enough time. When we get back to headquarters, I'll help you then. Not now when we're on a mission."

He grabbed her face and smashed his lips against hers. Sakura was so surprised by this that it took her a minute to respond. He pulled her into his lap, pressing his raging hard-on against her core. She pulled back and moaned. He nipped and bit at her neck. Her nimble fingers wove through his ebony locks, pulling him closer. He groaned as she massaged his scalp. She pulled him back up for a kiss. Their tongues danced with each other. He pulled away and pulled down the zipper of her shirt, kissing down the valley of her breasts. Unhooking her bra from the front, e massaged her fleshy mounds. She moaned as he pinched her nipples. He was about to pull one into his mouth when he stopped. Sakura looked down at him as he looked towards the village. "What's wrong?"

"We need to get going." He pushed her off of him and stood. She quickly clasped her bra back together and zipped up her top. They jumped down from the trees and ran back into the village. Sakura pulled out the tracker and checked their positions. She gasped and stopped. "Sasuke…"

"What is it?"

"He's not in Cloud anymore."

"Shit. We need to get to others. Look for him, now!"

They ran back to the hotel and burst into the room. "He's gone. We need to get moving. Now."

Everyone followed Sasuke out of the village while Sakura worked on locating him. She got view of all the countries but couldn't find their red dot. "He's not appearing on the radar." She pocketed the device as they stopped.

Karin got in her face. "How could you lose him like that, you good for nothing?"

Sakura didn't fight back. She was too busy thinking of another way that they track him. But nothing came to mind. _If only we had Kakashi's ninja dogs._

**_You idiot. Use your demon that just happens to be part dog, _**her Inner shouted at her.

She smacked her forehead. "How could I be so stupid?"

Karin smirked. "Ha, you've finally come to an agreement with me. You really are stupid."

Sakura looked at her confused. "What are you babbling about? You didn't say anything to me."

"W-What?! I was just yelling at you about–"

"You know, instead of complaining at people, why don't you be useful and actually come up with a plan to track Killer Bee."

"Because I already have one."

"Too bad I beat you to it."

"What?" Then she noticed tat Sakura had transformed into her demon form while they were arguing.

Sakura looked at Suigetsu. "Give me your hand."

"Why?"

"Because I can track him with his scent and I know you're the one that got the tracker on him." He smirked and held his hand out. She grabbed his wrist and sniffed, picking up the scent. She sniffed the air around them. She growled suddenly and leapt away from them. Sasuke and Naruto followed after her. The rest of Team Hawk went after them. Sakura was speeding through the forest fast enough that Sasuke and Naruto were having trouble keeping up with her. She stopped suddenly and they nearly crashed into her. The others landed behind them a few minutes later. She growled. "You're too slow. Keep up the pace."

"Well, if you didn't move so fucking fast we might be able to keep up."

Sakura was in front of Karin in a flash, baring her fangs at the woman, her hand tight around her throat. "You're becoming a thorn in my side, Karin. I should kill you here and now.

"Sakura, stop it, now."

She huffed and dropped her as she gasped for air. Sakura took off again.

They came to clearing where Killer Bee was fighting someone that seemed to part of the Akatsuki. They watched as the person dodged his attacks with little movement. Sakura's eyes widened. "No way," she mumbled.

Naruto looked at her. "What wrong?"

Sakura flung her pack off and jumped out of the trees, running at the two. They both stopped when they saw her coming. She reared her fist back and slammed it in the side of his face, feeling his skull crack under her fist. He flew back into a tree, creating at good sized hole in it. She turned to the person who had been fighting him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I found him first," a woman's voice answered.

"That gives you no reason to interfere."

The person shrugged. "I haven't had a good fight in so long that I thought, what could possibly go wrong if I go up against him?"

"You're looking for a good fight? Allow me to give you one." She disappeared and so did the woman. They clashed swords in the air. Sakura pushed her away and disappeared again. She did some hand signs and said, "Shirayuki: Kioku Semeru!" (A?N: Shirayuki: Memory Attack)

Sasuke looked at Naruto. "What is she doing?"

"You've got me on that one, teme."

"Karin, who is that Sakura's fighting?"

"I don't know. But she has the same kind of chakra as her."

Naruto's eyes widened. He jumped down and to them as Sakura started her attack. The woman screamed as she threw her hat off and gripped her head, her pink hair fanning around her as she thrashed around. Naruto grabbed Sakura by the shoulders. "Sakura, don't do this. You'll kill her."

"That's the point." Her voice had turned sinister.

"No, it's not. This is Yuka, your older sister that loves you. It's not her fault that things happened the way they did. Don't blame her for these things."

Yuka screamed louder as blood leaked from her eyes. Sakura screamed at the same time as her sister. The jutsu canceled and Yuka collapsed. Sakura returned to her human form and staggered away from Naruto, staring in horror at what she had done to her sister. Team Hawk jumped down from the trees and watched as Naruto tried to calm Sakura down.

"Sakura-chan, just cam down, okay? Everything will be okay. We'll take her back to the base and take care of her eyes."

She collapsed and cried into her hands. "FUCK!" She fell to her side and passed out. Naruto knelt beside her and picked her up. Juugo went and flung Killer Bee over his shoulder. Sasuke came over to Naruto. "I'll carry her. You carry the other one."

"Her name is Yuka, teme."

"You make it seem like I already know her name. I don't."

"That's Sakura's older sister."

"Hn." He took Sakura in his arms as Naruto went and picked Yuka up. _So this is the one that used to be with Itachi. In a way, she reminds me Sakura.

* * *

_

Review people, review. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!


	10. Chapter 10: Blind & Kidnapped Again

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Naruto or anything related to it.

* * *

Sakura groaned and fluttered her eyes. Everything was black and her body felt heavy. After she could get her body to cooperate with her, she touched around her eyes and felt a cloth blocking her sight. She tried to take it off but it wouldn't budge. Hands grasped her wrists and pulled them away from her eyes. "Don't do that. It could injure them more while they're healing."

"Sasuke?" She pulled her hands out of his grasp and reached for his face. She felt him nestle his face in her palm. He kissed her palm. "Where are we?"

"We're back at the base. Itachi found that there was something wrong with your eyes and found something to help you. He's staying with Yuka right now."

She groaned. "I can't believe I attacked her."

"I'm sure you had your reasons."

"That doesn't excuse the fact that I tried to kill her."

There was a knock coming from somewhere. Sasuke pulled her hand from his face, looking back at the door and said, "Come in." Itachi walked in and silently closed the door behind him. He walked around the bed and stood on the other side of her. "Has she woken up yet?"

He nodded.

"Itachi?" Sakura called.

"What?"

"Is Yuka okay?"

He sighed. "She's making progress, but barely. As for you, it should be at least another day before I can take the seal off your eyes."

"Seal?"

"It's something we picked up in Konoha when we raided their hospital. It's supposed to be used for the Hyuuga clan when they've damaged their eyes by overusing the Byakugan. But, it works on others to that have a doujutsu."

"I didn't know you knew things that medic-nin should know."

"I don't. I just know what to do when someone has an injury and how to use medical stuff."

She lifted her hands and covered her eyes. She channeled some chakra into her eyes and could feel her eyes healing. She stopped after a while and put her hands down. She felt arms wrap around her and she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Sasuke?"

"Don't worry. Itachi's just going to check you eyes."

She nodded and felt his hands slipping the cloth off. She still saw blackness. She was confused. She was sure her eyes were open. "Are my eyes open?"

"Yeah, why?"

She gasped. "I'm blind!"

"What?"

"I'm blind!"

"Sakura, calm down," Itachi hissed. She was quiet. Sasuke's arms tightened around her. Itachi wrapped the cloth back around her eyes and sealed it with a bit of his chakra. "The seal will hopefully fix your blindness. We'll leave it on for another day and a half before taking it off."

There was another knock at the door. "Sasuke, Leader wants to see you and Sakura in his office, yeah."

"We're on our way, Deidara."

Sakura was already standing. He took her hand and led her towards Pein's office and entered without knocking. Karin and Naruto stood in his office. They stood in a row in front of his desk. They noticed Ningendo, Pein's fourth body, was standing beside him. He had a diagonal bar going through his nose, two studs vertically on each cheek, two studs horizontal from each other on his jaw, and two studs, one on each shoulder, near his neck. Sasuke and Naruto noticed that it was watching Sakura intently. Pein looked up, his eyes wild with anger. "I'll admit that I'm impressed that you were able to get Killer Bee this time. But I'm angered by the thought that you lost track off him. Karin was the one that told me that Sasuke and Sakura had left, only to come back saying that he had left the village. But Sakura should've been keeping on eye on the tracker since she had it in her possession."

Sasuke glared at Karin, but she wasn't paying attention.

Ningendo walked up to Sasuke and was about to punch in the face, when Sakura said, "DON'T!"

Pein looked at her. Everyone was slightly surprised that she could tell that he was going to do something. "You have something to say?" Pein asked.

She bit her lip before saying, "It's not Sasuke's fault that we lost track of him…It's mine. We were going to make sure that he actually still had the tracker on him. But I distracted Sasuke."

Ningendo turned to her and punched her in the stomach. She coughed up blood as she fell to her knees. Sasuke couldn't do anything or Pein would have him killed. She wiped the blood from her chin and went to punch him, but he just stepped out to the side. She growled and went to punch in the direction he moved, but he just dodged her again. "Quit moving!"

He grabbed her by the throat and pinned her against the wall. She let out a strangled choke.

"Maybe you should've let Sasuke take the punishment. After all, it must've been pure luck that you were able to defeat Hidan and Kisame. You're just a weak little girl."

Sakura stopped fighting back. Pein saw this and told Ningendo to let her go. She slid to her knees. She was trembling slightly. It was barely noticeable but Sasuke saw it. Ningendo walked back over to Pein's side. "Know that if you ever mess up again in capturing someone, the punishment will be worse."

"Yes, Pein-sama," they answered, except for Sakura. Sasuke knelt next to her and took her hand. She gasped and pulled her hand away, holding it to her chest.

"Sakura, it's me. We need to get you to bed so you can rest your eyes."

She nodded. He helped her stand. As they left the office, she heard snickering beside her. She knew it was a female, she just didn't know who.

"Sasuke-kun, why do you keep her around? She really is weak if she couldn't fight off Ningendo. Maybe Pein-sama was right. Her victories really were pure luck."

On second thought, maybe she did know who it was. Before she could attack Karin, Sasuke grabbed her around the waist, restraining her. Sasuke glared at Karin. "Be lucky that I'm being nice enough to restrain her. I should let her kill you after you pulled that stunt."

"She's the one that decided to get the punishment."

"Sakura-chan, just leave her alone. She's just aggravating you for the fun of it."

Tobi decided to appear at that moment. "Tobi is here!"

Naruto and Sasuke smacked their forehead. _Of all the times to appear,_ they both thought.

Tobi looked at Sakura. "Oh, Tobi thinks you're pretty."

"Who are you talking to?"

"Tobi is talking to you. You're not pretty, you're beautiful."

Sakura's cheeks turned a nice shade of red. "W-Well thank you, Tobi."

Sasuke growled. "Tobi what are you doing here anyway?"

"Itachi-danna wanted to talk to you and Naruto-kun about something and sent Tobi to come get you. He said to take Sakura-chan to Yuka-chan and let her stay there until you're done with the conversation."

He sighed "Alright. Now scram and take Karin with you."

He cheered and grabbed Karin by the wrist, dragging her down the hall away from them. "I'll get a head start. You go ahead and take Sakura-chan to her sister."

He nodded. He picked her up bridal-style and began carrying towards the room her sister was resting in. "Sakura?"

She didn't answer but she wrapped her arms around his neck, laying her head on his shoulder. He turned his head and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Don't worry, Sakura. Don't take anything Pein says seriously. He was just mad."

She nodded. He came to a room and knocked. Itachi opened the door and let them come in. He went to set her down in a chair, but she tightened her hold on him. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want you to leave me."

"I'll be back soon. Just rest yourself."

"She won't be resting as soon as you leave. She and I will be arguing," Yuka said. Sakura gulped, afraid of her sister's wrath.

* * *

Sakura and Yuka sat in the room in an uncomfortable silence. Neither wanted to say anything to the other. Only Sakura was afraid that her sister would kill her if she said anything. The only noise was their breathing and the occasional shifting in the chair or bed. Yuka gritted her teeth together before saying, "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you attack me like that? I'm probably blind now."

"I think I'm blind too. That jutsu didn't only affect you."

"Answer my question," she seethed.

"It wasn't me that attacked."

She snorted. "Yeah, like I'll believe that."

"I have a demon inside of me. I'm part dog and part vampire. But I only drink blood if I feel like it, which is almost never. My demon was still angry at you about our argument back at my apartment. I wanted to apologize, but the other side of me wanted to kill you." Yuka was silent. "Yuka-chan, since I didn't say it earlier when I should've, I really am sorry. It was wrong of me and I had no right to do that."

She sighed. "I forgive you, imooto. I should've told you sooner why I wasn't around. Do you forgive me?"

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

Yuka smiled, even though she knew that Sakura couldn't see her. "Thank you, Saku-chan."

"Yuka, before we left Konoha we put on the clothes you modified for us."

She gasped. "Thank you so much. I knew you'd like them. It means a lot to me that you wore them."

Sakura laughed. After a couple of minutes, it was quiet. Neither knew what to say. The silence drew on and Sakura began to fall asleep. She felt a hand on hers and her head jerked up. "What's going on?"

"Saku-chan, where's Sakuno?"

She bowed her head. "She's traveling. I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen. She may be in Suna. That's the only other village she knows."

Yuka sighed. "She's just as stubborn as the rest of us."

"Aa."

"Do you think we'll ever find Ichino?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen him since he kill Kaa-chan."

There was a knock on the door. "Come in," they both said. Whoever it was came in a grabbed Sakura roughly by the arm and punched her in the stomach and then kneed her in the face. She cried out and collapsed to the ground. The person put their foot on her head and pressed down. Yuka couldn't do anything because she was strapped down to the bed. She knew that Sakura couldn't do anything because she was blind as well. She could only think of one other thing to do. "ITACHI!!!!!!!"

Whoever it was that was attacking them punched Yuka in the face. She coughed up blood and could feel it running down her chin. Sakura tried to get up but was stepped on in the back. She reached behind her and grabbed the person's ankle. With a flick of her wrist, the bone was snapped in two. But it didn't cause the person any pain, just made them move their foot. Yuka shouted, "Leave my sister alone!"

Sakura felt something pierce through her arm. She screamed. She tried to turn and retaliate, but the person was too strong and she was low on chakra. She couldn't use her inhuman strength or she could die from such low chakra. She held in the whimper that wanted to escape. She felt like she was back in her genin days when she was always on the sidelines watching the others fight or the damsel in distress that had to be rescued.

"ITACHI!!!!!!"

The person slapped her again and then grabbed Sakura by the neck. She gasped for air as they held her feet above the ground.

* * *

Sasuke, Naruto, and Itachi ran down the halls when they heard Yuka scream for Itachi. They ran into the room to find Yuka by herself. Itachi ran up to her and asked her what happened.

"Someone came in and attacked us. They didn't say anything so I don't know if it was a man or woman. They kept hurting Sakura. Is she okay?"

"Where is she?"

Yuka gasped. "Oh kami, they took her. If I hadn't been strapped down to the damn bed I could've helped her. Why'd you strap me down, Itachi?"

"You'd been clawing at yourself in your sleep. I had to. I didn't know."

"You have to find Sakura now. She could be in trouble and she'll be in even more trouble when she can't defend herself since she's blind."

Itachi turned to Sasuke and Naruto. "Go warn Pein that she's missing." They nodded and ran out of the room. He began to undo the straps around her. She grabbed his hand. "What's wrong?"

"Take me with you."

"Yuka, you're blind. You'll get yourself killed and I only just got you back. You're staying here."

"We don't know who took Sakura. But even though I'm blind, I can still see the color of chakra that a person has. I saw the color. If you let me come I can help."

"What if you get attacked?"

"I have a bit of an advantage because I'll still be able to see the chakra even if they try and conceal it. You don't have to take the seal off but let me come, please. I want to save imooto just like Sasuke does. Please Itachi."

He sighed. "Fine. But you better watch out for yourself because I won't always be able to save you."

She smiled and kissed the palm of his hand. "Thank you, Itachi-kun."

* * *

INFO:  
Danna - master  
Doujustu - eye technique like the Sharingan, Byakugan, and now the Shirayuki


	11. Chapter 11: Ichino

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Naruto or anything related to it.

(So i updated this chapter near the end.)

* * *

Sakura fluttered her eyes open, looking around. Then she noticed that she could see. She gave a quick smile before she could feel her restraints. She was chained to wall by her wrists and was kneeling on the ground. The thing that had her shaking was that there were snakes slithering around her body. One of them slithered down her shirt and was burying its face in her breasts. She shivered at the fact that it was freezing cold and she was wearing a skirt with no shorts underneath and a top that showed her stomach. She shrieked as one of the snakes slid under her underwear and licked her core. She bit her, keeping the moan in at the sudden feelings. This wasn't supposed to be happening. She was supposed to sitting with Yuka, sharing a laugh of two together.

She yelped suddenly when one of the snakes nipped at her dog ears. _Wait, when did I transform?_ She wiggled a bit and felt her tail wrap around her waist. She smirked and used her tail to move the snake from under her panties and block it. It got in her face and hissed at her. Her tail acted on instinct and whacked it away from her. It got up and hissed at her, getting ready to strike. But a dark voice told it, "I told you to not attack her. She's our guest and you're supposed to treat her nicely."

She couldn't understand why the voice sounded so familiar. She knew it wasn't Orochimaru because he was dead, for real. But she couldn't think of any other people that could summon snakes besides Orochimaru and Sasuke.

"I'm sure, my cherry blossom, that you're trying to figure out who I am, correct?" She gave a curt nod. He laughed. "Has my voice really changed that much since we last saw each other? Has it really been thirteen years since we've seen each other?"

She thought quickly. Thirteen years ago, the only person or people that left around the time she was seven was her father and brother. But since they both never returned, it wouldn't be surprising if it was one or the other. They had presumed her father dead, though they didn't have a funeral for him. They just put him on the memorial stone. She wasn't sure who it was.

"Oh, come now, Sakura. Don't tell me you've forgotten about me already. I used to spoil you two times a year."

Her eyes widened. That gave it away. "Ichino!"

"Bingo." He was suddenly in front of her, kissing her neck. "You look absolutely stunning, imooto. I can't imagine how good Yuka might look, but I don't like older women."

"Ichino, don't do this. You can't do this," she whimpered. The snake in her shirt nipped her nipple and she yelped. She was sure it was bleeding.

"Oh, but I can, sister dear. Be lucky I'm not doing what I normally do to women that I capture. They're normally begging me to stop torturing them with pleasure."

She shuddered. "Ichino, please stop. Why are doing this?"

"It's not my choice, imooto. It's Orochimaru's choice. He's making me do these things."

"You're supposed to resist him. Not listen to him."

"You don't understand, Sakura. He takes over my body when he wants." He pulled her into his lap, her legs on either side of his waist. "Imooto, you have to kill me or he's going to make me kill you."

"Why should I believe you after all that you've done? You killed our clan, Ichino. I'm ashamed to even consider you my brother, especially since you made me watch you kill everyone that only loved us as part of the family!"

He slammed her against the wall. "It wasn't my fault. I didn't want to do that, Sakura. Remember the day before how I came home late?" She gave a slow nod. "That night, Orochimaru found me and took over my body. He wanted you to watch them die. I was able to let you and Kaa-san live. After, he left me alone for five years, forcing me to wander around and scavenge for food. You think that I wanted to kill everyone in our family?"

"How was I supposed to know?"

He sighed and began to unchain her wrists. "Sak, you have to kill me."

"No."

"Sakura, please. If you don't kill me, he's going to make me rape you. Please, kill me."

"You have to fight him, Ichino. I know you can. You didn't become Anbu at fifteen for nothing. Fight him."

He threw her to the ground, clutching his head. She shut her eyes as her brother screamed and Orochimaru started to pull out of Ichino's body. He flopped to the floor, gasping for air as Orochimaru stood tall above them. He licked his lips and watched Sakura with lust-filled eyes. Ichino got up and covered Sakura with his body, shielding her from the snake lord. She clung to him as she began to cry. "Leave her alone, Orochimaru."

He glared. "Move out of the way, boy. This girl is mine and you'll do nothing to keep her away from me."

"I'll kill you."

"Not before you kill her first. I do recall you going to Akatsuki base and attacking her and Yuka."

She looked up at Ichino. "You were the one that attacked us?"

"No, he made me. He took over my body and made me attack you."

"How could you?"

"Sakura, please, you have to believe me. Look at what he's done with Sasuke."

She stopped herself from saying anymore. She knew all that Orochimaru had made Sasuke do and how he had merged with Sasuke's body.

Orochimaru clucked his tongue. "Ichino, retie her to the wall."

"No."

"Ichino, you're not following orders. I said, retie her to the wall. We've captured her for a reason. Do as I say or she will die."

Sakura watched as his eyes glazed over and he pulled her roughly by the arms. He pushed her against the wall and snapped the cuffs back around her wrists. Orochimaru laughed. "Sakura-chan, you're brother's mind is so easy to manipulate. But, do you know why I've made your brother capture you?"

"Why?"

"Because I want that demon that's sealed inside of you and I want your Kekkei Genkai."

* * *

Sasuke, Itachi, Yuka, and Naruto jumped through the trees, Yuka leading the group. They were surprised that Pein had seemed angry that Sakura had gotten capture even after attacking her in his office. He yelled at them that they should've been more observant and that they were stupid for not keeping watch over Yuka and Sakura. "Yuka, are you sure that you can see?"

"Itachi I can see fine. I'm following the chakra color. As long as I do that, I won't hit anything."

"What color is this person's chakra anyway?" Naruto asked.

"It's like a maroon color, but it as black swirling around in it."

"Which means…"

"It means that this person has let another person merge with his or her body. If I had the Shirayuki before I left Konoha, I'm sure I could tell you who it was because this chakra seems familiar."

"Do you know who the black belongs to?" Sasuke asked.

She shook her head. "No, but judging from the murderous intent that comes from he black chakra, it's someone really bad."

"Can you pick up any traits from the chakra, like what kind of jutsus the person may have used?"

"Only one or two and those would be the ones that they use the most. The maroon colored one doesn't use jutsus that much so I can't tell you anything about that one. As for the black, it's used forbidden jutsus a lot and the bloodlust and murderous intent is very high."

"There's only one person who would use forbidden jutsus that much," Naruto commented.

"You're right," Sasuke replied. "Orochimaru is still alive and he's using someone else as his host."

* * *

She screamed as an intense electric shock went through her body. They stopped and she gasped for air, her body weak and tired. She hung by her wrists with her hands above her head. Her feet couldn't touch the ground and two men stood on either side of her. They were trying to get the demon out of her and Orochimaru was getting mad. "Please…stop…" she begged.

"I want that demon. Give it to me!" He signaled to Ichino to shock her again. He did some hand signs and sent a shock through her again. She screamed again. Her throat was sore and dry from all of the screaming she was doing. The demon inside of her boiled under the surface, wanting to attack the ones causing her this pain, but she told it that if she came out, they would separate them from each other. Her head fell back in exhaustion. "Please, just kill me now. I can't take it anymore."

Orochimaru just laughed. "No, I think that's enough for today, Ichino. We'll try again tomorrow."

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru," he answer hollowly. He unchained her and she fell to the floor. She tried to get up on weak arms, but she had no strength left. He picked her up and carried her back to the room where she had woken up in. He sat her against the wall and then sat next to her. She watched as his eyes went back to normal. He looked around and then looked at her. "Imooto, please tell me that he didn't have me–"

She shook her head. "No, he didn't have you rape me. He just wanted to extract the demon from me." She coughed violently and blood spewed out. He gathered her in his arms and sat back against the wall. "I'm sorry, Sakura. This is my fault."

She clutched his shirt. "No, don't blame yourself."

He rested a hand on her chest and it began to glow green. She looked up at him. "I didn't know you were a medic."

"I had to learn it incase he got injured. I also wanted to learn it incase he ever attacked me to the point where it was pretty bad and I needed a medic." Suddenly her stomach grumbled. Her face flushed as he laughed. "I take it that you're hungry."

She blushed and looked away. "I didn't have anything to eat before you came and captured me."

"You'll be hungry for a while, probably. He only feeds us when he feels like it. Judging by the time of night it is, I doubt that we're getting any food."

"How do you know that it's nighttime?"

He point up and her eyes followed, seeing a small square window barely wide enough for them to see a bit of the moon. "Oh, I didn't notice that."

"I'm sure you didn't. I didn't see it until a month after I'd been here."

"How long have you been under his control?"

"I'd say probably around the time that you turned sixteen and after Sasuke Uchiha had 'killed' him. He found me again and merged with my body. He does it at will. So if you wake up in the morning and I'm hurting you in any way, it's most likely either he's in my body or he's controlling my mind."

She snuggled into his chest and closed her eyes. "Good night, Ichi-nii."

He smiled. "Good night, imooto." He kissed her the top of her head and closed his eyes, both falling asleep on empty stomachs.

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* * *

They had stopped for the night. Yuka sat high up in the trees, watching the chakra float by her in the darkness. Itachi had taken a look at her eyes. They were healing but she still couldn't see anything. They both feared that she may be permanently blind. Someone landed in front of her. She saw the chakra color and smiled. She felt something get placed in her hands. Her fingers skimmed the item. "What is it?"

"Fish, eat up," his deep, velvet voice said.

"Itachi?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think we'll find her?"

He sighed. "I don't know. As long as you can keep track of the chakra signature, I'm sure we'll find her." He caressed her cheek. "Don't worry, love. She'll be okay."

She smiled. "Thank you, for the encouragement and for your concern for my sister."

He gave her a soft kiss. "I'd only do it for you," he whispered. He maneuvered so that he could slip behind her and pull her into his lap. She sighed in contentment and began to nibble on her fish while Itachi twirled strands of her long pink locks around his finger.

On the ground, Naruto saw the scene of affection above and sighed sadly. He pushed the half eaten fish away from him. Sasuke noticed his change in mood. "What's wrong with you?"

"Yuka and Itachi are together and it seems like you and Sakura-chan are a couple. But who do I have? The person I want most is back in Konoha." He untied his headband from around his forehead and looked at the Konoha symbol on it. His finger traced the symbol lightly. His brows furrowed as his finger ran across the line that went through the symbol, signaling to everyone that he was a Missing-Nin. "Then you had to come and take everything away from me when we fought. If I had won, I would be back in Konoha right now, probably sitting with the one person that loved me for who I am. But now that I've become Missing-Nin…I bet she hates me right now." He hung his head.

"Get over yourself, Naruto. You know you're not going back to Konoha and that's that."

His head snapped up. "If I didn't run the risk of you guys killing me as soon as I tried to escape, I would. I never wanted to stay here and be stuck with you. When Sakura-chan and I were coming to back you guys up, we talking and she told me some things I bet she didn't even think to tell you."

"Yeah, like what?"

"That she hates being part of the Akatsuki, just like me. She didn't join to avoid bloodshed between any of us."

"Then why did she do it?"

"She didn't tell me. She said that wed both find out sooner or later." Naruto knew that he was lying to Sasuke but that didn't mean that Sasuke was going to find out that he did lie. It was quiet between them before Naruto asked, "Why are you so mean to Sakura-chan sometimes teme?"

"What are you talking about, dobe?"

"Sakura-chan told me that she feels like whenever you look at her, you're judging her that even though it seems like you want her to be with you that you want to push her away too."

"Hn."

Naruto glared at him and shot to his feet. "What's with you?! Juugo told me that the reason you wanted Sakura here was because you wanted her to give you and heir. Is that your only reason?"

"What other reason would I have?"

His eyes went wide at Sasuke's scowl. "You don't care for her at all, do you?"

He didn't answer.

"If you don't care for her then, why are you coming with us to save her?!"

He got in his face. "Because I can't afford to lose anyone else," he hissed. "If Sakura dies, then I die. She was the only one that ever cared for me after my family died and she always put others before herself, even me no matter how many times I rejected her."

"Teme, she's not the only that cared for you. Kakashi did and so did I. You know that."

"But I've never hurt you guys like I've hurt her. I can't afford to lose her, Naruto."

Naruto sighed and backed down. "As long as Yuka can keep track of the kidnapper, I'm sure we'll find her in no time."


	12. Chapter 12: Sakura & Sakuno

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Naruto or anything related to it.

* * *

Days passed and nothing had progressed for Sakura. Every morning, both she and Ichino would wake and Orochimaru would come in and put Ichino under his control. Then, they'd chain her wrists above her head and have her hang there for about three hours. Then, they'd try and extract the demon that was inside of her. But no matter how the demon wanted to come out and kill Orochimaru, Sakura wouldn't let it, therefore draining her of her chakra and other energy. They barely received any food and if they did, it was only bread and water and Ichino would practically have to force it down her throat because she wouldn't eat. As the days passed, he began to notice that she was becoming thinner and weaker. Every night, before they went to sleep, he would hold her close and rock her back and forth in his arms while she cried.

It had been seven days since Sakura had been captured and Yuka and the others hadn't gotten anywhere. The chakra signature was beginning to disappear on her and soon they wouldn't be able to find Sakura or her captor.

On the seventh night that Sakura had been there, she opened her eyes and looked around. A plan had come to her in her dreams. She went over it quickly before she forgot it. _There's no way this plan can fail if I execute it correctly and time it right. It has to work._

**_You'll only know if it works if you try it. We can get out of here if you try._**

_You're right. Alright, here goes._

She gently climbed out of her brother's arms, did some hand signs, and put him into a deep sleep. Once she was sure he wouldn't wake up – even if Orochimaru tried to take control of his mind – she did another set of hand signs and slammed her palms on the floor. "Summoning Jutsu: Giant Slug!" The floor began to crack. She grabbed Ichino by the collar and in a puff of smoke, she was crouching on top of Katsuyu in the outside world. Her blood went cold. Across from her was Manda, Orochimaru's giant snake. Orochimaru stood on top of Manda's head, watching Sakura with amused eyes. "You didn't really think that you'd get away with that little plan of yours, did you?"

She smirked. "I have more tricks up my sleeve." She activated her Shirayuki and summoned Gamabunta. He stood next to Katsuyu. She set Ichino down and jumped onto his nose.

"Gamabunta, I need your help just this once."

"Just this once, girl."

She did some hand signs. "Transformation Jutsu!" There was an eruption of smoke and the Nine-Tailed Fox jumped out and swiped at Manda. The snake coiled around the fox and squeezed. Katsuyu moved in and spit acid slime onto the snake. It hissed and uncoiled from the fox, trying to clear its eyes of the poison. The Nine-Tails lifted a paw up and slammed it into the ground. An explosion erupted and sent the snake spinning away from them. There was another puff of smoke and Sakura was on the ground next to Katsuyu. She looked up. "Katsuyu, thank you for your help."

"You're welcome, Lady Sakura." She 'poof-ed' away and Ichino was laying on the grass where the slug was. She gently slung one of his arms around her neck and wrapped the other around his back. She gathered chakra in her feet and took off, not sure where she was going.

* * *

Not far away from the battle, the other group had stopped to rest for the night after traveling non-stop for three days straight. Naruto looked up as it suddenly got darker. He barely had time to yell out a warning when the giant snake came crashing down on the camp site. Sasuke leaped into a nearby tree with Naruto and Itachi, who was holding Yuka, landed next to him. "We need to move in the direction it came from. Whoever it is may be able to tell us if they've seen Sakura," Naruto said.

"For once, I actually agree with you, dobe."

They took off in the direction that Manda had come sailing from. Little did they know that Orochimaru had recovered quickly and was silently following behind.

* * *

Sakura dashed through the trees as fast as she could with chakra pumping through her feet and carrying her brother that was still dead to the world. But she was getting tired too quickly and it was because of her lack of nourishment, or more of her refusal to eat when she was given the food and water. While she still had chakra left, she had to be careful because she was using a genjutsu too. Her guard had to be extra high right now because other ninja that were lurking around could ambush her if she wasn't acutely aware of everything around her. The genjutsu she was using made her hair look black and her eyes a deep maroon color. Her shirt and skirt were a maroon color as well.

With her Shirayuki activated under the genjutsu she sensed four chakra signatures coming in after her. Being careful not to slow down, she reached into Ichino's pouch and pulled out three exploding tags strapped to kunais. She threw them into a tree as she passed by it. She counted slowly to five and then heard them explode. The signatures stopped. She gave a sigh of relief before continuing on. Just as she was about to jump to another branch, two figures appeared on the branch in front of her while two landed behind her. Her eyes wandered across all four figures. Ichino began to stir beside her.

_Shit, what do I do?_

He looked up at her and then looked around confused. "What's going on and who are you?"

_Shit, I forgot that I had the genjutsu going._

A gigantic fireball came from her right. She jumped down from the branch to the ground. Ichino wiggled out of her arms and activated his Shirayuki. "Ichino, wait!" She looked away. Someone landed beside her and threw a fireball are her. She reacted by creating a water wall in front of her. Steam surrounded her and everyone jumped in, attacking the one who they thought was their enemy. As the smoke cleared, Sakura's genjutsu wore off and everyone saw who everyone else was.

Naruto had Sakura's leg under his right arm and his left leg at Yuka's stomach. Yuka had a sword pointed at Naruto's neck and her fist in front of Sakura's face. Sasuke had his sword at Sakura's neck and left foot at Itachi's head with Itachi's hand around his neck and his other hand around Ichino's neck. Ichino had Sakura's fist in his right palm with his right foot planted on Itachi's stomach and his left fists in Naruto's face. All together they made a circle around each other.

"Sakura-chan, you're alright."

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Mr. States-The-Obvious. Of course I'm alright if you've all got me somehow twisted around like this."

""Then why did you disguise yourself?" Yuka asked.

"Because pink hair sticks out, especially at night."

"Why'd you throw kunai bombs at us?" Sasuke questioned.

"Because you guys were coming in too fast and my guard was on autopilot."

"Seems logical enough for me," Itachi muttered. Everyone let go of who they were holding on to and stepped away from each other. Yuka stared at the person, whose chakra was glowing a maroon color, behind the cloth around her eyes. Her fists clenched. "Sakura, why are you carrying around the person that captured you?"

Before Sakura could answer Ichino said, "Maybe if you take that thing off you'll see who it is."

"I can't, you imbecile. This thing is healing my eyes."

"Well, since you can't take it off, I guess you'll never find out who it is."

"Wait, this is the one that captured you, Sakura?" Sasuke asked, his fists tightening around his sword.

"Yeah, but–"

Sasuke already had his sword against Ichino's neck. "Prepare to die, scum."

Sakura slapped his hand away before he could strike. "Just listen to me before you do anything!" she snapped. She turned around and shoved her brother. "What's wrong with you? You can't just go picking fights with people that are from the Akatsuki."

"The Akatsuki, huh? I never would've pegged you for the murderous type, Sak."  
"That's beside the point, idiot. When Yuka-chan asked who you were you should've told her that you are her younger brother, Ichi-nii."

Yuka gasped. "Ichino?"

"In the flesh, sister dear."

She growled and shoved Sakura out of the way before lunging at him. "How dare you pretend like you didn't kill our entire family. I don't know what you did to Sakura, but you are one sick and twisted piece of shit that I once considered a brother."

Sakura grabbed Yuka by the arms. "Yuka, let him explain."

"There's nothing to explain, Sakura. You told me yourself that he killed them."

"He was being controlled by Orochimaru, Yuka. Oro was controlling him and made him kill our clan, he made him attack us and capture me. Oro even said that himself. Please, listen to me." Sakura was suddenly tackled from the side by someone. She looked and saw Ichino was the one that hit her. Yuka was laying on the ground, motionless. "Ichino, what are you doing?"  
He didn't answer. He ran at her with a sword gripped in his hand. She dodged to the right and avoided his swing. He disappeared and she did as well. The other three that weren't engaged in battle stared above them as the other two appeared and disappeared in the air in different fighting positions against each other. Sakura reared her fist back and slammed it against his jaw. He crashed into a tree and she landed on her knees. She flopped down and gasped for air. Her chakra levels were way too low for her to stay up. Sasuke came up next to her and gently picked her up in his arms while Itachi went and got Yuka. He looked at Naruto. "We need to get going."

Sakura clutched Sasuke's shirt. "We have to take Ichino with us."

"Not a chance. He attacked you and Yuka and I'm not taking the chance of him killing you. You're already frail as it is."

"It's not his fault. Orochimaru is controlling him. Please, we have to take him with us."

"No."

Evil laughter filled their ears suddenly. The three men backed up until their backs were touching. Their eyes scanned the trees, looking for the person to attack. Naruto watched with fierce eyes as Ichino stood up from his slouched position against the tree. Orochimaru appeared next to him. "Ichino, I want you to capture Sakura and Yuka."

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."

Naruto growled and charged at Ichino. "YOU BASTARD!" He created four shadow clones. Ichino punched the real one in the jaw and the clones disappeared before they could land a hit on him. He swiped his sword at Naruto, slicing his stomach. Sakura jumped out of Sasuke's arms and ran over to Naruto's side, kneeling down next to him. "Naruto, are you alright?" Itachi set Yuka down next to them.

"Don't worry about me. You need to get out of here, Sakura-chan before he gets you and Yuka."

"I can't let you get hurt."

"Don't worry about me," he said firmly.

Meanwhile, Sasuke and Itachi were battling Ichino and no matter how many combo attacks they tried on him, he'd always deflect them, seeing right through them. Both jumped back and stood in front of the other three. "Sakura, you have to tell us what it is that your doujutsu does. We can't land any hits on him and our chakra is already starting to get low."

"Keep your Sharingan activated as long as you both can. If it deactivates, don't make eye contact with him. If you do, he can go through your memories and make your worst nightmare or death fear come true. If that happens, you won't be able to escape it; you'll be killed. The Shirayuki can also render any ninjutsu or genjutsu useless if used on the person who has our doujutsu. If you use taijutsu, it'll read your moves and the person can figure out your next move before you even think of it."

"Does it have any weaknesses?" Itachi asked.  
"If Yuka was awake, she could tell you. I don't know much about my Kekkei Genkai. I haven't had it long and since everyone in my family is dead, no one can tell me what its weaknesses are."

"Hn."

Orochimaru laughed menacingly. Ichino watched Sakura intently as she stood. She pulled out her sword and ran at him, her own Shirayuki activated. He dodged to her right and she aimed to kick him in the face. He caught her foot and brought his sword down. Her own clashed with his before he could cut her. She knocked their sword out of their hands and did some hand signs. She touched his chest and he felt a pulsation go through his body. He let go of her and yelled as his head began to pound mercilessly. Orochimaru cursed and yelled at him, "Kill her, you worthless dirt bag."

Ichino pulled out a dagger that was coated with poison. He ran at her. She smiled and he tackled her to the ground. Itachi, Sasuke, and Naruto were engaged in a battle with Orochimaru. Yuka sat up and rubbed her head. She looked around and saw chakra signatures weaving around each other. She saw the maroon colored one above the pink colored one. Ichino had Sakura pinned down. She called in a small, shaky voice, "Ichino, what are you doing?"

Ichino didn't hear her. He stared down horrified at what he had done. The dagger had gone through her palm and now the poison was spreading though her system. "Imooto…"

She smiled. "Its okay, Ichi-nii."

Tears began to well in his eyes. "Why didn't you dodge me? You're going to…die and I only just found you."

"Because if I did, I would've killed you."

"That's what you should've done! Imooto, I don't deserve to live. Look at what I've done. I've killed our family, attacked my sisters, and now I've killed my younger sister that I love very much."

She shook her head. "Ichi-nii I could never kill you. I love too much to even let that thought cross my mind."

He buried his face in her neck and sobbed, pulling the dagger out of her hand. Yuka crawled over to them and touched Sakura's head. "Imooto, what's going on?"

She looked up at her sister. "I didn't dodge his attack and he stabbed me hand with a poison-coated dagger."

She gasped. "Sakura…No, you can't die on me. Sak, we've only just gotten back together…You can't…please don't."

"Yuka-chan, Ichi-nii, don't cry. Tsunade-sama trained me in working with poisons. I won't die."

"Sak, you don't understand," Ichino mumbled. "This is a poison that Orochimaru just made. He's never had me use it until now. Kami, I'm so sorry Sakura. Please forgive me."

She caressed his cheek. "Its okay, I'll always forgive you."

Yuka undid the cloth around her eyes and looked down at her sister, though she still couldn't see. She leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I love you, imooto and I'm sorry for everything I've done."

She smiled. "I forgive you, Yuka-chan." She closed her eyes and her head lolled to the side. Tears from both of her older siblings fell in torrents. But for Yuka, the tears were mixed with blood. Orochimaru looked over at them and laughed. "Good job Ichino. Now just kill the other one and we'll be on our way."

Sasuke looked over at them and saw the woman that he loved limp in her brother's arms. His anger boiled over and he stalked over to him. Ichino looked up fearfully at the approaching dark aura. "You…killed her."

"No, it wasn't my fault. He made me do it. I swear."

Yuka looked at Sasuke. "Don't kill him, Sasuke. The person you should be directing your anger to in Orochimaru."

"Yuka, put the seal back on. You and him need to take her to Konoha. It's not far from here. Take her to the Hokage and tell her to save her," he whispered. "We'll catch up as soon as we're done here."

Both nodded and she put the seal back on around her eyes. Ichino picked Sakura up and both took off towards the Leaf Village. Naruto, Itachi, and Sasuke made a circle around the snake lord. Sasuke's Mangekyo was spinning madly in his eyes. "Tonight, you will die, you decrepit bastard."

He hissed. "Come and fight me, Sasuke-kun. Come and avenge your lover."

* * *

Ichino and Yuka sped through the trees, weaving into and out of them. Ichino used his Shirayuki to see farther up ahead. "Yuka, we're coming closer to the village. We're going to have to sneak in since we're Missing-Nin."

"I know."

He looked down at his younger sister. Her head was nestled in his neck and her body looked even frailer than before. The poison was spreading too quickly and they weren't moving fast enough to save her. He cursed silently. He was always useless when it came to keeping his sister safe. The only time he ever did something good was when he made her smile, or when he would go and bully the kids that picked on her. Then, he left her all alone to fend for herself and their younger sister who had left the village to go traveling according to her. He didn't even know what she looked like. Hell, he didn't even know her name.

"The gates are fifty meters ahead of us. We need to conceal our chakra," Yuka informed.

"I know."

They covered their chakra and came to the side of the wall, jumping on the top of it. "Hey!" They looked back and saw Kiba, Akamaru, and Neji standing there. Both intruders cursed and headed towards the Hokage's Mansion. Akamaru landed in front of them and growled. Yuka pushed Ichino of the wall and then jumped after him. They landed silently on their feet and sprinted through the streets, hoping to get to their destination. Ichino looked at his older sister. "Split up!"

"Right." She went right while he went left. He slinked through the shadows, being careful to keep an eyes out for any other ninja that were looking for him and keeping his chakra masked. He made it to the Hokage's Mansion without being detected. He disappeared and reappeared inside the place. As soon as he was in, he was met with a sword at his throat. In front of him stood an Anbu Officer pressing the weapon against his flesh. Ichino concentrated on seeing his eyes. Once he did, he activated his Shirayuki and the Anbu began to scream and thrash around. He ran passed him and headed for the Hokage's office. He still remembered the way there. _They never change, do they?_ He came to the door and kicked it open, but moved to the side before he got hit.

Tsunade must've been anticipating him because she had thrown a chakra-infused punch at him. But he dodged it. She turned at him, her amber eyes glaring hard enough to make ice melt. "Who are you?" she demanded, her voice booming.

"Lady Hokage, my name is Ichino Haruno and my older sister, Yuka, is coming this way."

"Ichino?!" Her fists clenched hard enough for her knuckled to pop. "What are you doing here? You better tell me now before I kill you."

He sighed. "I see you've failed to notice that Sakura is laying dead in my arms."

"What?" she gasped. She turned to Shizune who was standing in front of a small girl that had happened to be her office before all the commotion started. "Shizune, tell all that are searching to stop. If they find Yuka Haruno, tell them to bring her to my office unharmed."

"Yes, Lady Tsunade." She disappeared in a puff of smoke. She grabbed Ichino by the arm and dragged him in side her office. "Lay her on the ground." He did as he was girl stood behind Tsunade's desk, holding Ton-Ton in her arms. Ichino noticed that she had forest green eyes and bright pink hair with brown streaks in it. Tsunade pulled something out of her desk and kneeled down next to Sakura's body. "Tell me what happened."

"Orochimaru took control of my mind and had me stab her with a poison-coated dagger. I stabbed her in the hand, if that info is of any use to you. The poison is one that Orochimaru had made not too long ago and he's never forced me to use it until now."

She nodded. She popped the cork out of the small bottle that she had taken out of her desk. She poured some on the wound in Sakura's hand and then poured some in Sakura's mouth. She massaged her throat to get the liquid down. She looked back at the girl. "Hand me the bowl on my bookshelf. Take all the papers that are in there out."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." She set the pig down and grabbed the green bowl, dumping the papers out on the floor and then handing it to her.

"Thank you. Ichino, I need you to hold Sakura in your arms. The liquid that I put in her mouth will gather all the poison in her system and set it in her stomach. But it makes it so that once it has it all, she'll throw it up. That's what the bowl is for. Understand?"

He nodded. He picked her up ad set her against him so that her back was against his chest. With his hands on her stomach, he could feel it gurgling. He heard her whimper and then she was puking in the bowl that Tsunade had in front of her. When she stopped, the girl kneeled down next to her and wiped her mouth. Sakura slowly lifted her head and looked at the girl. "You…you're here…Sakuno…"

She smiled. "I'm glad that you're alright, Sakura-chan."

Ichino was seriously confused. "Sak, can you tell me who this girl is?"

Sakura leaned back into his chest, closing her eyes before she mumbled, "Her name is Sakuno. She's our younger sister…" After, she passed out while he stared in bewilderment at the girl kneeling next to him.


	13. IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE!

A/N: I'm sorry for anyone who's read the story. But i'm discontinuing the story. I'm just not into the story anymore and it's just not working out. So, i'm sorry for all of you who've read this and are disappointed about this. You're welcome to read any of the other stories of written and review them, please. Thank you for taking your time to read this author's note.

- J.J. out


	14. Chapter 13: Second Chances

Author's Note: If any of you are still out there wanting to read this, I have decided that i will finish it. I'd like to thank Uchihablossom0626 for helping me with this chapter.

* * *

The three ninjas stood in a line from across the snake summoner. Itachi held his arm as blood trickled down his fingers and there was a trail of blood coming from his right eye. He had to deactivate his Sharingan. Naruto was on his knees, panting heavily. Orochimaru had caught his arm just as he was going to land his Rasengan on him and flung him into a tree. His touch was holding his left right, where he was sure that three of his ribs were broken. Sasuke's left hand was burnt from overusing his Chidori and it was a pain just to barely close his fist. But still anger still coursed through his veins as his Sharingan spun wildly, grinding his teeth together. How dare that snake bastard hurt what was his.

Orochimaru laughed to himself, seeing the glare from the younger Uchiha. "What's wrong, Sasuke-kun? Are you angry because I'm not dead yet?" He let out a hissing chuckle. "Or is it because I had your precious blossom killed?"

Sasuke let out an audible growl, lifting his Kusanagi to him. "You fucking piece of shit."

Itachi put his uninjured hand on his shoulder. "Sasuke, reign in your anger. It won't help us defeat him."

Orochimaru laughed. "You should listen to your older brother, Sasuke-kun. You just might end up like Sakura-chan."

Sasuke let out a yell and lunged at him, swinging his sword with such precision that he landed some deep cuts on him. Naruto disappeared and reappeared behind the snake lord. Orochimaru gasped when he saw that his eyes were a crimson red. His fist collided with Orochimaru's jaw and Naruto smirked with satisfaction at feel the bones break. Sasuke and Naruto disappeared as Itachi appeared behind him and grabbed his wrists, pulling them back and pressing his foot against his spine. As he felt the joint give and was about to pull his arms completely off, Orochimaru's head spun around and his tongue lashed out at him. Itachi released his hold and jumped into the trees.

Orochimaru looked around himself and smirked, his arms hanging limply at his sides. "Don't tell me we're playing hide-and-seek now."

"Who's hiding?" he heard and spun around to see Sasuke in his cursed form with his dark skin, longer hair, and wings. He looked to his other side to see Naruto on all fours with the Kyuubi chakra surrounding him. He felt hands grab his ankle and drag him down to his knees into the dirt. "What is the meaning of this?"

Itachi appeared in front of him. "Death is hanging over your head."

Sasuke activated his Chidori while Naruto started up his Rasengan. They both ran at Orochimaru and when their attacks his him in the heart, he let out an scream of pain as the attacks left a gaping hole where his heart should have been.

Sasuke sneered at him. "Don't ever touch what is mine."

His body fell backward, landing with a thud as his eyes rolled into his head. Sasuke and Naruto changed back to normal as Itachi jumped down from one of the trees. "We need to get going and catch up with Ichino and Yuka. Hopefully they were able to save Sakura in time."

Sasuke glared at him before taking off. Both Itachi and Naruto sighed before following him. They had to hurry.

* * *

Ichino stared in bewilderment at young girl kneeling in front of him as Tsunade left the room for a minute. This girl was his supposed younger sister, the one that was still laying in their mother's womb when Orochimaru forced him to kill his clan. But there was definitely no doubt that they were related. He noticed a small blush rise under her cheeks as her eyes shifted away from him. He realized that she was making her uncomfortable.

She looked back at him. "Is Sakura-chan going to be okay?"

He looked down at his sister who was still cradled in his arms. "Yes, she'll be fine."

She bit her bottom lip before asking, "A-are you...Ichino?"

He sighed. He knew it was going to come. "Yeah."

"The one that killed our clan and our Okaa-chan?" Her voice wavered near the end as tears gathered in her eyes.

He hung his head for a second before laying Sakura down on the ground. "Sakuno, I need you to listen very closely to me, okay?

She shook her head, backing away from him. "No, you're going to hurt me, like you did to Okaa-chan." He reached out to her, but she slapped his hand away. "Leave me alone!"

"Sakuno!"

She stopped and stared at him with wide, fear-filled eyes.

"Please, I want you to trust me, Sakuno. I don't mean you, Sakura, or Yuka any harm whatsoever. The night that I killed our clan and our mother, someone was controlling me. I do nothing to stop him from controlling my body like a puppet." He hung his head when he was done. Despite him explaining the best he could, he expected her still cower from him, to call him a liar, or even hit him for what he'd done to their family. It was bad enough that the anger and guilt were weighing down on him. It was even worse that he felt his youngest sister was going to hate him for the rest of his life.

"Who was controlling you? Who forced you to do such a thing?" she asked quietly.

He still didn't look at her. "The legendary Sanin Orochimaru."

Sakuno sighed and surprised him by wrapping her thin arms around his neck, her fingers combing through his hair. His arms hesitantly wrapped around her small body. "Why are hugging me?" He asked. "Aren't you mad at me for being so weak?"

She shook her head. "No. But while I may be a little confused about the whole thing, I'm not mad at you. But I do have questions for you. Can you answer them later?"

"I'll try to the best of my ability."

She nodded and pulled away. "We need to get Sakura-chan to her apartment. I'm sure she's going to sore and tired when she wakes up."

He smiled a bit at her. "You want to be a medic just like your older sister, huh?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Sakura-chan has been helping with teaching me some basics for tougher missions when they come along."

He laughed and rubbed the top of her head. "That's good."

The door swung open and Tsunade walked in with Shizune. She handed Sakuno a small vial. "Sakuno, when you get home and lay Sakura down, pour this liquid down her throat. It should help make sure that her system is entirely purged of the poison."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama."

Ichino slipped his arms under Sakura's knees and back and lifted her. "Tsunade-sama, if they find Yuka-nee-san...please send her to Sakura's apartment."

"I will. Don't worry."

"Thank you." He walked out of the office and Sakuno closed the door behind them as they left the building. Tsunade collapsed in her chair and sighed heavily, rubbing her temples. "I hope Sakura will all right. Shizune, where'd you hide my sake? I think I deserve some right now."

* * *

When they reached Sakura's apartment, Sakuno reached under the doormat and grabbed the spare key, unlocking the door. They walked in and she led him up the stairs into Sakura's room. As he laid her down on the bed, she moaned softly and reached out to grab his shirt. "Ichi-nii..." she whispered. He smiled and gave her cheek a kiss before loosening her grip.

"Sakuno, go ahead and give her the liquid."

She dug the vial out of her pocket and climbed onto the bed next to her older sister. Ichino opened her mouth as she poured in the liquid and he massaged her throat to get it down. Sakura coughed a bit but settled down just as quick. Sakuno climbed off the bed as Ichino pulled the covers up to her neck, making sure to tuck her in. He gently nudged Sakuno out of the room and quietly closed the door. She led him into the kitchen where they sat at the table across from each.

Ichino sighed. "So, what questions do you have for me, imooto?"

She hummed for a minute, thinking of what question to ask first.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten what they were," he joked.

"I did not." She crossed her arms childishly and poked her tongue out at him.

He laughed. "Alright, alright, no need to get all defensive."

She looked down at the table top before asking, "What was Otou-san like?"

He scratched the back of his head. "Sakura hasn't told you much about him, has she?" She shook her head and he leaned back in his chair. "Well, let's see..."

* * *

Itachi, Naruto, and Sasuke stood in the trees just outside the gates of Konoha-gakure. Sasuke made a move to go forward, but Naruto stopped him.

"What?"

"Last time Sakura-chan and I were here, we were attacked. While I'm sure Tsunade-baa-chan knows that we're not the enemy, I don't know if she's informed the other ninjas that."

"Well, we're gonna have to chance it, dobe." He wasn't going to add that he was worried about whether Sakura was alive or dead, especially with his brother around, no matter how much of a truce they had come to between them.

"I'll stay out here," Itachi said. The two others looked at him. "I've been a Missing-Nin for about the past eleven years and an S-ranked criminal at that. I'm sure that Tsunade knows that I've helped you get through the Akatsuki and whatnot, that doesn't excuse the fact that I've committed several heinous crimes not only against Konoha, but also against other ninja countries."

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other. "Itachi, stay hidden for a while. After we find out Sakura-chan's condition, we'll talk to Tsunade-baa-chan about this. We'll see what we can do," Naruto said.

Itachi shook his head. "It'd be best if I disappeared altogether. I'm sure that even if Tsunade was to pardon me and just give me a punishment, the Elders would not accept me back into the village, neither would a lot of the villagers."

"We'll still talk to her," Sasuke said. "End of discussion."

Itachi stared at him for a minute before chuckling. "Do as you wish, Otouto."

Naruto and Sasuke leaped out onto the wall before disappearing into the village. Itachi swatted a mosquito away before turning and disappearing deeper into the trees.

* * *

Her head was pounded and her body felt like each body part weighed a ton. She shifted around before fluttering her eyes open. For a moment she could tell where she was, let alone what happened. As her eyes picked up different items in the room, she realized it was her bedroom. She closed her eyes, about to go back to sleep when she remember what happened to her and shot up. The pounded in her head increased tenfold and she rested her head in her hands, feeling nauseous. After a couple minutes, the pounding decreased and she flung the covers off, gently sliding off the bed. As she regained her balance, she took small steps towards the door. In the hallway, she could hear hushed whispers coming from the kitchen downstairs. She crept down quietly and slowly, keeping her chakra concealed and when she got to the bottom step, peeked around the corner. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw Sakuno and Ichino at the table.

When Sakuno saw her older sister standing in the entryway, she leapt out of her chair and rushed over to her. "Sakura-chan, are you feeling okay? Shouldn't you still be in bed?"

Sakura patted her head. "I'm fine, imooto. No need to worry about me."

"Are you sure? You like to push yourself and pretend to be fine even when you're clearly not."

Sakura laughed nervously as Ichino raised a brow at her. "Sakuno, shut up and go in the living room."

She stuck her tongue out at her before dashing into said room. Ichino stood up and wrapped his arms around Sakura, resting his chin on the top of her head. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. "Please forgive me, Sakura," he whispered into her said.

"There's nothing to forgive," she mumbled.

"Yes, there is. I was took weak to stop the bastard from controlling me. My weakness cost us our entire clan, your life, and the tens of other people he's made me harm."

She looked up at him. "Ichi-nii, none of that was your fault. He's a Legendary Sanin and no one would expect you to be able to stand up against him, not even me. So, no I'm not going to forgive you because there's nothing to forgive. Understand?"

He hugged her tighter. "You were always so kind to me, imooto. Thank you." He sweetly kissed her forehead.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke stood in Tsunade's office. Her hands were folded in front of her mouth, elbows set on her desk as the two men stood tensely in front of her. Sasuke's fists were clenched so tightly that blood was dripping in between his fingers.

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing that I can do. Even if I were to tell the Elders that he helped get you, Naruto, Sakura, and anyone else back here, that wouldn't help outweigh the crimes that he's committed. Even if every ninja and citizen voted him innocent, their say is much more powerful. No one can oppose them."

Naruto slammed his hands on the desk top. "But there has to be some way-"

"There isn't!" she interrupted. "I'm sorry, to the the both of you."

None of them noticed the hot pink haired woman's chakra signature just outside the window of her office.

* * *

Sakura was sitting on the window sill the living room while Ichino sat on the couch with Sakuno laying in his lap. The clock under the TV read 2:03 am.

"Do you Yuka and everyone else are okay?" Sakura asked out loud.

"I'm sure Yuka is fine and I'm sure the guys are on their way here," Ichino answered. There was a knock at the door. "Well what do you know? Speak of the devil."

Sakura rushed to the door and swung it open to see Naruto and Sasuke standing there. She lunged into Naruto's arms hugging him tightly before hugging Sasuke. "You guys are alright."

Sasuke held her tight. "Yes. The only problem is Itachi."

She pulled back. "Why? Is he okay?"

* * *

Yuka jumped through the trees, using the Shirayuki to follow his chakra signature. The band was still around her eyes and she knew that her eyes still hadn't gotten better. She stopped when she saw that his chakra signature had suddenly disappeared. Strong arms suddenly wrapped around her waist and warm lips began kissing her neck. She smiled. "Itachi..."

"Yuka, my love, you should be with you siblings and everyone else."

She shook her head and turned around in his arms, laying her head on his chest. "I overheard Sasuke and Naruto talking to Tsunade-sama. There's noway that you can return to Konoha-gakure. The Elders will have you executed."

"I'm not surprised. I do deserve it from all that I've done after all."

She shook her head. "I can't lose you, Itachi-kun. Not like the last time."

He combed his fingers through her hair. "I know, Yuka-chan. I know."

She lifted her face towards him, her hands resting on his cheeks. "Itachi-kun, we can run away. We can go into hiding."

"Not anymore, Yuka. Pein knows that I'm against the Akatsuki know and I'm in every countries bingo book. There's nowhere for us to hide. We're gonna have to chance it in Konoha-gakure. At least there we have some people on our side." He reached behind her head and undid the seal on the band across her eyes. For a minute, her eyes stared into oblivion, then they began to slowly come into focus. "Can you see me, babe?"

She nodded. "It's still a little fuzzy, but I can see you...I can see you." Salt tears began to trail down her cheeks.

He smiled at her. "Listen to me, we're going to go to Konoha-gakure, in through the front gates and when they point their weapons at us, we're going to lay all of ours on the ground. I have to tell them the truth about what happened."

* * *

Sakura sat curled up in Sasuke's lap as he rubbed her back. Naruto was sitting next to Ichino across from them. Sakura lifted her head as she wiped away her tears. "Yuka's gonna follow him..." she sobbed. Sasuke held her tighter.

"There's nothing we can do to save them," Naruto whispered solemnly. "Even Tsunade-sama said that there was nothing she could do. The Elders have the final say if we were to put them on trial."

"Hn."

Ichino sighed. "We'll find a way.

* * *

Author's Note: I know it's not that long, but there will probably be one last chapter after this. Please leave me some reviews. Thank you! =]


	15. Chapter 14: Finding Out the Truth

I own nothing related to Naruto

* * *

Word had reached the group a couple days later that Itachi and Yuka had been captured at the front gates without any resistance. It hit Sakura and Sasuke the hardest. They believed that the two were just going to give their lives up without fighting for them. Ichino had disappeared somewhere in between all the worrying and Sakuno had gone upstairs into her room.

Naruto had to leave since the depressing atmosphere was too much for him to sit through. It was bad enough that the one person who cared about him for who he was possibly didn't even want to see him, now that she knew he was an S-ranked criminal, or once was if Tsunade hadn't cleared their name already. Now he was going to lose two people who he was just getting used to. Not only that, but he also had to prove to the whole village that they could trust him like before. . . that is, if they left him live. He would be put on trial with everyone else and with the crimes they made him commit in the Akatsuki with Sasuke, he might not live to see the day after his trial. But if they kept him alive, he wouldn't be able to achieve his dream of becoming Hokage. No one would want to trust him enough to let him become leader of the village.

The thoughts were swirling around in head so much, he hadn't noticed that he'd passed right by his apartment and stopped in front of the Hyuuga Estate. He stared at it thinking that if he stood there long enough, the one person that cared for him would come out.

"Can I help you?"

Naruto jumped at the voice. A young girl with long brunette hair and pale eyes stood next to him, her eyes trained on the gate in front of them. He immediately knew by the eye color that she was a Hyuuga. "Uh, no not at all. I was just stopping to think. See ya around."

As he turned to run away, the girl grabbed his sleeve. "If you wanted to see Hinata-nee-chan, you should have said so."

"How...?"

She smiled. "Call it a girl's intuition." As she pulled him passed the gated and down the pathways, he remember that Neji lived there and the both of them weren't exactly on good terms. Nor was he on good terms with Hinata's father.

He started trying to pull his hand out of her grasp. "Actually, I think it'd be best-"

"Neji-nii-san isn't here; he's on a mission right now." Naruto relaxed a bit. "But father is home and he doesn't really like you much, as you probably know. So be careful if we see him."

"Hanabi-chan, who have you brought to the house aga-" Both turned to see Hinata bring her hands to her mouth as her eyes began to water. Naruto stared back and neither noticed Hanabi slip away quietly.

"Naruto-kun..."

He scratched behind his head. "I was just going to leave since I know you probably don't want me-"

Hinata rushed into his arms, her fingers clutching his shirt and her face buried in his chest. He hesitated before gently rubbing her back, feeling her body shake as she sobbed.

"Hinata, I know I've been gone for so long but..."

"I don't care," she sniffled into his shirt. "I don't care what everyone else feels about you being gone and joining the Akatsuki. I've missed you so much and I've wanted you to know for a long time that I've always had feeling for you. It doesn't matter that you have the Nine-Tailed Fox inside you because you are who you are and nothing will change that. Even if Father thinks that you're unfit for me, it doesn't matter to me because he's letting Neji become head of the house. It wont matter what other think."

He stared at her with his mouth agape. "Hi-Hinata, I'm going on trial for the thing I've done. I've killed innocent people and have Anbu trailing my ass around the village because everyone thinks that I'm here to try and destroy the village. You shouldn't like me; I'm wrong for you. And you should care what your father thinks; he's just trying to look out for you."

"I don't care what he thinks. He can't force me to stop liking someone and I know you're going on trial, but I know you won't be put to death."

He hugged her tightly, kissing the crown of her head. "Thanks, Hinata, for giving me a chance to prove myself."

Not too far from them, Tatsuya peeked around the corner at the hugging couple. He looked back at Hanabi who was sitting on the walkway next to him "Who is that man hugging Okaa-san?"

"Naruto Uzamaki. He's going on trial in front of the Elders and the Hokage in a couple days."

"What did he do?"

"He's an S-ranked criminal."

"Then why-"

"He's the same man that Hinata often daydreams about and he already has Anbu following his every move. I noticed their chakra signatures when I saw him outside the gates."

Tatsuya thought for a second. "Do you think he knows that woman I told you about?"

"The pink-haired woman?" he nodded. "I told you, that's Hinata's friend Sakura. Of course he know her. They were on the same team as genin according to Kiba-san."

"You think she came back?"

"I don't know. Why? Do you like her?"

"Ew. No. I think she knows more about me than she or anyone else in this family has let on. She has to know who I really am."

"Tatsuya-"

"Don't deny it, Hanabi. I already know I'm different from this clan of people. The way everyone looks at me and the fact that my eyes are green are the most obvious reasons. And everyone may think I don't notice, but I know the Okaa-san is too young to be my mother." He paused. "You think this Sakura woman could be related to me? Our eyes are similar."

Hanabi shrugged. "There are a lot of green-eyed people in this world, Tatsuya. But it seems like only she would know the answer by what you're telling me."

He slid down next to her. "Can you help me find her?"

"Not today. Father isn't going to let me leave the grounds again. I already left to go eat lunch and Neji won't cover for me today."

"I guess I have to ask Kakashi-sensei then."

* * *

His one day off in a while and he had been chased around by his two students, Shiori and Akira. Like everyone else, they were curious as to what was under his mask. And just like the original Team 7, they were trying to figure out ways to get his mask off. But he knew all their tricks. At least Team 7 had been more discreet about their plans. He had given them the slip just now, ensuring that he had at least thirty minutes of alone time."

"Kakashi-sensei!"

But he's been wrong before. He glanced back to see Tatsuya walking up to him with his hands in his pockets. Hopefully he wasn't in on trying to get his mask off. "What's up?"

"Remember that friend of yours that you introduced me to?" Kakashi didn't know that he knew the woman's name. "Well I was wondering if you knew if she was back or not?"

"Why Tatsuya, I never knew you were interested in older women!"

He cheeks flamed. "It's not like that, you perverted old man!"

Kakashi laughed. "Relax, I'm only kidding. But I do know that she has returned to the village."

He beamed. "Awesome. Do you know where she is?"

"Unfortunately no. Even if I did, it would be best for you not to look for her."

He pouted. "Why?"

"She's going to be put on trial soon and there's a slim chance that she'll be let go alive. So I think it's best that you had only met her that one time." He hated to discourage his student. But Tatsuya didn't need to be put through the pain of getting to know someone and then watch them get executed on trial, especially since Kakashi knew that his biological parents were going to be executed for sure.

"Sensei, she knows something about me that she won't tell me and I need to know. The family I'm with now, the Hyuuga's, I'm not like them and everyone knows it. If I belong to some other family I want to know who they are and why they gave me up. Aren't you even worried about her one bit?"

He gave a long sigh. "She's like a daughter to me; of course I'm worried about her. But even if I could stand up for her in her trial, there's not much I can give. I doubt that the Elders are going to be willing to believe me since I have such a close attachment to her. They'll think I'm lying for her. That's why I'm not going to be there as a witness for her."

"But sensei-"

Kakashi rested a hand on his shoulder. "We'll see what we can do in the trial, but I can't make any promises that we'll be able to save her. Deal?"

Tatsuya looked down at the ground sadly. "Understood."

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura stepped lightly down the stone steps, hand in hand while an Anbu walked almost silently behind them. As they traveled further downward the air became cooler and more moist as they noticed water slipping down walls and water drops plopping from the ceiling. They passed by many Anbu guards standing next to thick metal doors. There were few that were empty. Prisoners pressed their faces against metal bars to get a look at the people passing by, then calling out when they recognized the ninjas. The couple ignored them, as did the guards.

At the bottom of the stairwell, there were two Anbu standing guard in front of a larger metal door with a metal turn handle on it. Rust edged around its frame, mainly at the bottom from the puddles of water on the ground. One moved and pulled it open, the hinges squeaking in protest loudly. Inside, Itachi and Yuka were sitting against the opposite walls in a padded cell, their wrists chained tightly behind their backs and their ankles were chained loosely. There were dark purple circles under their eyes that accompanied the sickly pale skin covering their bones.

"You have fifteen minutes," the Anbu that'd been following them huffed gruffly. "And don't even think about trying anything. The Elders gave us permission to kill you if necessary."

Itachi chuckled from his spot against the wall, muttering something under his breath. Sakura and Sasuke kneeled between the the two prisoners. Itachi's hair hung limply over his shoulder, his hair tie absent as was the headband that kept his bangs out of his eyes. Dried blood was smeared on the corner of his mouth. Yuka's hair was in much disarray, signaling that she may have put up more of a fight than Itachi obviously did. Both were missing the Akatsuki cloak. So Itachi sat in a mesh top, his pants, and sandals. Yuka kneeled in chest binding with the mesh top over it, black shorts, and toe-less boots. Sasuke clenched his fists in his lap.

"You seem upset, otooto," Itachi started.

"Why did you let yourselves get caught?"

He sighed. "Let's not used that as a conversation opener, huh?"

"WHY?" he shouted.

He inclined his head back. "Even if we kept running, Pein would eventually track me down and I can't take him in my current state of near blindness. It's either that or waste what little energy I had and hiding has become so tiring. Letting the leaf ninjas kill me on the spot would've been better than doing that for years."

Sakura looked at Yuka. "And you?"

"I wasn't going to be separated from him again. Besides, I'm wanted more in the Sand Village than here...and not in the good way. I haven't been on the Kazekage's good side lately and his sister Temari hadn't been putting in a good for me. She's been blaming me for crimes I haven't committed. The problem is that he believes her and it's probably because the fucking doctors at the main hospital kicked me out."

Itachi looked at her. "Why didn't you tell me this?"

"I didn't want to worry you even more. You've already been fretting over my eyesight."

"Are they major crimes she's been accusing you of?" Sasuke asked.

Yuka sighed heavily. "Not all. Most are minor, like robbing a bakery or something like that. But she blamed me for the death of some high-ranking doctor at the hospital that I was kicked out from. She said that I wanted to get back at him for firing me. That's part of the reason why I fled Wind Country. But knowing the Kazekage, he's probably already warned the Hokage about me and my crimes."

Sakura crawled over to her older sister and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "Yuka, is there anything at all that we can do?"

She shook her head. "But there is a favor that I ask of you, Saku-chan."

"Anything."

"Remember that secret I told you about when we had our argument?" Sakura nodded. "I want you to bring it us. It's important that we see it before our trial."

Sasuke and Itachi loooked at each other confused as Sakura chewed on her bottom lip.

"Yuka, you know that your secret is under the protection of the Hyuuga's. It's bad enough that Hanabi's father can't stand neither me or Naruto. I don't know it-"

"It's under the protection of Hinata Hyuuga. She can come with it as well if it'll make her feel better. But I have an inkling that we're not going to live passed the end of our trial and I need to see it before we die."

"I hate to interject, but what exactly is this secret of yours?" Itachi inquired.

She looked up at him and smiled softly. "Ita-kun, that night that you suddenly disappeared from Konoha was the same night that I was prepared to give you an unexpected surprise." Itachi still looked at her confused. "That day...I found out that I waws pregnant and the baby was yours."

His eyes widened and then narrowed. "Why haven't you told me before that I had a child, Yuka?"

"You told me before that you didn't want to have kids and I didn't think that you had changed your mindset, especially considering you were working for the Akatsuki. I didn't want to force you into something you didn't want. Besides, where was I supposed to find you when Pein kept relocating you guys?"

"You could've let me know while we were searching for Sakura. We had time for that."

"We had more pressing things to attend to like finding my sister before she was killed."

"Enough!" Sakura said, placing a pressing hand on Yuka's shoulders. "Relax, the both you you. If you want me to bring him, I will as long as I am able. If they say no, then I won't come tomorrow. But I think that he'll want to come regardless."

The Anbu shouted at them, "Your time is up! Time for you to leave."

Sasuke stood as Sakura hugged her sister tightly and gave Itachi a kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry, everything will be fine," she whispered to the both of them before running to catch up with Sasuke. The door shut with a loud boom and the clank of the lock turning on it. Itachi looked at the hot-pink haired woman across from him. "Seeing as I'll possibly be meeting our son tomorrow, I at least have a right to know his name. Or are you going to keep that from me too?"

"Itachi, don't start."

"I'm upset that you didn't tell me something as important as this. I've had a son for the past thirteen years. Don't you think I would've wanted to know that?"

"I was in Wind Country with no way to know if you were dead or alive. When I found you picture in the bingo books, there was no guarantee that you hadn't been killed yet by someone."

"You think I'm that weak?"

"You never let on to how strong you were to me. Even if you reached Anbu at a thirteen, I would just think that you were exceedingly smart. Didn't mean you were strong."

He scoffed but said no more. Yuka watched him for a second before looking away and sighing heavily before looking back at him. "His name is Tatsuya."

* * *

The next morning, Sakuno, Sakura, and Sasuke stood in front of the big iron gates of the Hyuuga Estate. Sakura had made Sasuke promise that if they saw Neji that he wouldn't start anything, to which he replied, "Fine. But if he starts, I'm not backing down." She only rolled her eyes at him when he said that. And Sakuno had begged her to come along because Tsunade was giving her a day of in her medical training and Ichino was no where to be found to take care of her.

As soon as they left her apartment, the two young adults sensed the chakra of the Anbu that were probably assigned to follow them until the trials started, or the Kazekage reached the village for Yuka's trial. Whichever came first.

Sakura looked over at Sasuke, who only sighed and leaned against the gate. "Unless you have a plan on getting in, we're not getting this Tatsuya kid any time soon."

"Maybe you should have tried calling out for someone." They saw a boy about Sakuno's age standing on the other side of the gate. He looked up at Sakura. "I remember you. You're that woman that Kakashi sensei knows."

"How do you know him?" Sasuke whispered.

She ignored him and smiled at Tatsuya. "I'm glad you remember me. Is Hinata home?"

"No, she went out with some blonde haired guy with marks on his face. She told me to stay here."

"Is Hanabi or even Neji home?"

Tatsuya turned his head and yelled, "Neji-san!"

Sasuke folded his arms across his chest and Sakura elbowed him in the side. Sakuno giggled softly. "Don't start anything, especially in front of the two kids," Sakura warned.

He didn't respond as Neji came down the walkway, his pale eyes narrowing as he spotted who was on the other side of the gate. "Tatsuya, why are there two S-ranked criminals at the gate?"

"I'm not really sure, actually."

"Neji, we need to borrow Tatsuya for just-"

"Absolutely not."

"You didn't even let me finished," Sakura argued.

He crossed his arms. "I don't care. I'm leaving him alone with the two of you and your sister. Even if you are able to survive you trial, I won't let him anywhere near you two or Naruto."

Tatsuya looked between the adults before asking Sakura, "Why do you need me?"

Sakuno ran up to the gate and grasped the bars. "Because Sakura-nee-chan has someone for you to meet."

Sakura kneeled down and pulled her sister back from the gate a bit. "Remember those dreams you told me about with the woman carrying the child?" He nodded. "And you've noticed that you don't have the same kind of eyes are everyone else, right?"

"You know something about me, don't you?"

"I'm sure the curiosity has been eating away at you about who you really are and who your really parents are."

"You know who they are?" Sakura nodded. Tatsuya bit his lip before asking, "Why did they give me up?"

As the tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, Sakuno reached between the gates and grasped his hand, squeezing it before giving him a smile. He gave a watery smile back.

"If you really want to know and have any questions you have answered, you have to come with us. But only if it's all right with Neji."

Tatsuya let go of Sakuno's hand and looked up at the man who'd been posing as he uncle/would-be-father with pleading eyes. This could be his only chance to know who his real parents were and why they gave him up.

* * *

Yuka woke to the sound of the locks being shifted around and the loud, grating squeal of the rusted door. Itachi lifted his head as well. Both were curious to see who it was that had come to visit them.

"Only two of you are allowed in at a time," they heard an Anbu say. There some hushed whispers before Sakura and a young boy, who was clutching her shirt from behind, came into view. He had onyx colored hair that hung low in his grass colored eyes as he took in the two characters sitting in the damp cell. The woman looked at him with relief and happiness. She looked exactly like the one from his dreams who carried the child. The man looked at him with a sense of adoration and wonderment. The Anbu stood int he doorway and said sternly, "Remember, you've only got fifteen minutes."

Sakura eased Tatsuya out from behind him and laid her hands on his shoulders. "Tatsuya, this is my sister Yuka and her husband, Itachi." She winked at the two of them and they caught on why she said that and smiled.

Yuka beckoned him forward. He shuffled closer to her. Her eyes ran over his face. Her green eyes, albeit a little darker, Itachi's lips and nose, but with her shaped face. Yes, this was definitely her son. The one that she had to give up when he was such a small baby and left at the front gate of the Hyuuga Estate just at day break. She remembered how one of the maid's had seen her and asked her what she was doing. She'd been glad that she had a cloak with a hood on so that she wouldn't see her. She had handed the maid that child and said that it was in their care before taking off. She never thought that she would be able to see her son again. "You've grown so much since I last held you," she whispered brokenly.

He kneeled next to her. "You're the woman from my dream."

* * *

_**I know, I know, it's been a while since I've updated this (or anything for that matter) but I'm trying. I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. I think it's going to be two or three more chapters left before it's done. I hope that you've enjoyed it so far. Please review for me and leave me any ideas you have on how I should do the next chapter or even how I should end it. I'm open to any thing. Thank you! =]**_


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